A global exhibition of postcards, featuring some of the world’s best-known illustrators and organised by the University of Worcester’s International Centre for the Picture Book in Society, has been turned into a new book.
The front cover of the new Sea Change: Save our Ocean book
Sea Change is the latest venture from the Centre and is concerned with sustainability and promoting ocean literacy.
Over 400 artists from around the world, including Gruffalo illustrator Axel Scheffler, Jackie Morris, Roger Mello and Nicola Davies, contributed illustrated postcards to form an exhibition drawing attention to the growing threat to our ocean and seas.
The postcards formed an international touring exhibition which opened at Nami Island, South Korea in 2022 has just been exhibited at The Hive in Worcester before moving to BIB (Biennial of Illustrations Bratislava), which is a UNESCO sponsored event.
A selection of the postcards has now been turned into a special book, published by Herefordshire-based Otter-Barry Books, which will be launched at the world-renowned Hay Festival at the end of May.
Tobias Hickey, Course Leader in Illustration at the University who curated the exhibition and edited the book, will also be delivering a series of Sea Change workshops at Hay Festival on Friday, June 2.
“Each postcard reflects the illustrator’s own personal views on ocean literacy and sustainability and highlights to us all that we need to do more to protect our planet,” he said. “The exhibitions have been really well received and I’m thrilled that Otter-Barry have now published a new book, which will bring the postcards to a wider audience, further sharing this important message.”
Mr Hickey said further activities with communities under threat from climate change are being planned as part of the project as the Sea Change exhibition makes its way around the world.
It is the second postcard exhibition delivered by the University’s International Centre for the Picture Book in Society, that has been turned into a book. Migrations: Open Hearts, Open Borders was published, also by Otter-Barry Books, in 2019 and has gone on to global esteem. This exhibition and book highlighted the world migration crisis.
Sea Change: Save the Ocean will be released on June 1st and is currently available to pre-order from Otter-Barry Books.