In the Autumn of 2023 we held our Picture a Story Festival in partnership with Half Moon Theatre and Arts Council England. True to CWISL’s mission, it encouraged children to celebrate and explore the diverse world of storytelling via pictures, words, and performance. Our inaugural exhibition of work by published children’s book illustrators was open to the public from September to December 2023 at the Half Moon Theatre, based in East London. It was the first time that we’ve hosted a major festival in Tower Hamlets and our three-month programme also included theatre performance events and an opportunity to meet and greet the artists involved.

The exhibition ran alongside school events with visiting CWISL authors and illustrators.

Events included …

December 7, 2023 – Celebrate and Investigate

An inclusive evening with a party and panel looking at breaking into the children’s book industry

December 9, 2023 – Big Family Art Event

An exciting event day jam-packed with family events and workshops with authors and illustrators.

Picture a Story Exhibition

The exhibition Picture a Story brought together a diverse collection of stunning and evocative work by published author-artists from a range of genres and styles for babies to older children.  Selected by an expert panel following an open call, the exhibition included prints by author-artists who are CWISL members Nicholas Allan,  Loretta Schauer, Anne-Marie Perks and Bridget Marzo which were be on sale alongside books and prints by other leading talents in contemporary children’s books today,  Steve Antony,  Karin Littlewood,  Jane Porter,  Rikin Parekh and Lucy Farfort.

Below is a glimpse of  some of the prints which were on show by our four CWISL members.  You can find more on the Half Moon Gallery page    Those who came to the show could take advantage of the chance to purchase a Christmas gift of a prints or children’s books supplied by Brick Lane Books.