On Monday 9 May I set off from central London to transport the Library’s Alice in Wonderland exhibition north to The Laing Art Gallery in Newcastle. This second collaboration between the two institutions offered a unique opportunity to share treasures from the Library’s collections and private lenders with audiences in the North-East.

© Laing Art Gallery, Tyne & Wear Archives & Museums

Displayed across the Laing’s two galleries, the exhibition showcases how generations of illustrators, artists, filmmakers and designers have been inspired by Lewis Carroll’s classic tale. With additional objects from The Victoria and Albert Museum (V&A), London and The Laing’s own collections, this immersive exhibition features everything from a life sized Dodo to interactive computer games and iconic illustrations by Mervyn Peake, Leonard Weisgard and Salvador Dali. These unique and rare objects captivate adults and children alike, and draw audiences down their own rabbit hole of adventure.

© Laing Art Gallery, Tyne & Wear Archives & Museums

The Laing’s Exhibitions, Workshop, Conservation and Visitor Services Teams worked tirelessly for several months on the design and build of the exhibition. It took three days to install the fragile ceramic figurines, spinning tops and playing cards in time for its opening on Saturday 14 May 2016. Visitors who saw the exhibition here at St Pancras will recognise the fabulous Alice storybooks with their vivid imagery and colourful illustrations. It was wonderful that the exhibition’s original design elements could be reused by the Laing; it’s much more environmentally friendly. Where possible we always reuse graphics, showcases, bespoke mounts and props in our touring exhibitions.

© Laing Art Gallery, Tyne & Wear Archives & Museums

Touring exhibitions are a relatively new venture for the Library and are incredibly rewarding in terms of extending the accessibly of our collections to a wider UK audience. They also have the added value of skills sharing and the strengthening of reciprocal relationships with regional museums, galleries and libraries. There’s a huge amount of thought that goes into the planning of a touring exhibition. Can all the objects be displayed at the venue? Does the venue have the required security and environmental conditions? What are the potential implications for the layout of the exhibition in the gallery? Can the original 3D and graphic design concepts be incorporated into this unique space? These discussions with partners run for months prior to, during and after the display of the exhibition.

The British Library’s Exhibitions team would like to thank the generous contributions of private lenders and the wider Library staff for making this tour possible.

‘Alice in Wonderland’ will be on display at The Laing Art Gallery until 2 October 2016. The Laing has a full and varied programme of public events throughout the run of the exhibition, which you can see on their website.

Mary Linkins

Exhibitions Production Coordinator