Common Lands Exhibition

An exhibition of illustration, giclée, silk-screen prints and hand-painted wooden models bringing together a collection of work centered around the natural world and the changes and effects from our impact upon it.

Common Lands explores themes of biodiversity, habitat, destruction and migration, drawing parallels between the struggles in nature and in human societies.

Ideal for families, this exhibition looks both at the negative – the effects of sharing a planet whose natural spaces are diminishing faster than ever, and the positive – an overall celebration of the wonder of nature and how all living beings may live together more harmoniously.

Two contemporary artists sharing a common interest in the natural world have come together to share this creative space for celebrating, exhibiting and, most importantly, learning.

Notes for Editors:
Frann Preston-Gannon is an award winning illustrator and author based in Brixton, South London. Her books include The Journey Home, Dave’s Cave and I Am The Seed That Grew The Tree, which was awarded Waterstone’s Children’s Gift of the year 2018. She has published over 15 books and has seen her books published around the world. She was the first UK recipient of The Sendak Fellowship in 2011 where she was invited to a residency with the master of children’s books, Maurice Sendak.

Maggie Li is an illustrator and art director based in London. She specialises in bold, graphic illustration with a focus on visual storytelling. As well as art directing popular children's publication OKIDO magazine, she writes and illustrates her own children's books. Her popular Detective series (Bug Detective, The Amazing Human Body Detectives and The Amazing Dinosaur Detectives) has been published in more than 8 countries. She is also a passionate print-maker and enjoys screen-printing in her spare time.

Providing a wonderful opportunity for meaningful public engagement, Preston-Gannon and Li are offering a program of free, daily, drop-in workshops.
This is a series of workshops and local community engagement activities designed to offer art and creativity to children.

All workshops are drop-in and will be filled on a first-come first-served basis.

Saturday 16th
11am-12pm & 2pm-3pm
Join illustrators Maggie Li and Frann Preston-Gannon to design and create your very own colourful bird mobile.
Suitable for ages 3-8

Sunday 17th
11am-12pm & 2pm-3pm
Come and get colourful with Frann Preston-Gannon and Maggie Li as they help you create your very own ocean puppet scene.
Suitable for ages 3-8

Monday 18th
11am-12pm & 2pm-3pm
Join Maggie and Okido Magazine and learn about animal migration and then make some folded animal puppets.
Suitable for ages 3-8

Tuesday 19th
11am-12pm & 2pm-3pm
Design and create a creepy crawly with help from Maggie and her book ‘Bug Detectives’ and watch them climb up the wall!
Suitable for ages 3-8

Wednesday 20th
11am-12pm & 2pm-3pm
Join illustrators Maggie Li and Frann Preston-Gannon to design and create your very own bird mobile.
Suitable for ages 3-8

Thursday 21st
11am-12pm & 2pm-3pm
Join Frann Preston-Gannon to talk about how to illustrate poetry and draw from nature. This workshop draws inspiration from her illustrated poetry book - I am The Seed That Grew The Tree.
Suitable for ages 5-10

Friday 22nd
11am-12pm & 2pm-3pm
Maggie and Frann invite budding young artists to join them as they offer advice and techniques on drawing from nature. They’ll offer step-by-step instructions for how-to-draw different animals!
Suitable for ages 5-10

Saturday 23rd
11am-12pm & 2pm-3pm
Story time and workshop with Frann Preston-Gannon based on her lyrical new picture book, In The Swamp By The Light Of The Moon.
Suitable for ages 3-8

Sunday 24th
11am-12pm & 2pm-3pm
Come and get colourful