Fairy Tales

27 March – 23 August 2026

Client
British Library

Location
London

Collaborators/Creative partners
Exhibition design: Ryder / Alan Farlie and Tom Piper
Lighting design: Record Lighting
AV design: Clay Interactive
Storybook illustration: Rebecca Strickson
AV installation: ADI Audiovisual
Exhibition build: Sam Forster Associates
Graphic production: OMNI Colour

Photography
Luke Hayes/British Library, David Sudlow Designers

Context

Head into the woods, towards the palace and off to far away lands. The British Library’s first major exhibition for families and younger visitors celebrates tales of magic, wonder and enchantment. The exhibition begins at the hearthside, before leading people on a journey through hand-painted theatrical set pieces. There are over 150 items from the Library’s collections on display, covering 50 tales from across the world, highlighting global connections inherent in storytelling across hundreds of years.

Design

Working alongside theatre designer Tom Piper, the exhibition design is a series of carefully crafted story worlds. Hand-painted sets, props, lighting and environmental graphics combine to make it feel like you are journeying inside an illustrated fairy tale book. Interpretation texts are written as rhyming couplets and displayed as if they are book ribbons hanging down the walls. Illustrated story book labels and playful prompts encourage readers to dig deeper into questions raised by fairy tales. A significant level of creative coordination was required across all disciplines to achieve a sense of suspended disbelief.

Type: Exhibition
Size: 540sqm
Project duration: 15 months