Millennium and The House of Fairy Tales present an exhibition of over 100 artworks exploring folklore, mythology and metamorphoses with emerging, established and internationally acclaimed artists. The selection of work embraces excellence, innovation, elegance, charm, humour and a curiosity for the dark and sometimes disturbing. It is also the start of a season of collaborations between London and Cornwall based artists including many Millennium artists.

The House of Fairy Tales was founded in 2007 when artist, Gavin Turk and writer, Deborah Curtis were invited, by the late Jago Eliot, to create a child centred space at Cornwall’s Port Eliot Literary Festival. The fully fledged creative company returned to the festival in 2009 and now aim to build on this relationship between London and Cornwall with a series of art, live music, performance and poetry events planned throughout 2010, involving the ICA, Port Eliot, Newlyn Art Gallery, Cornish museums and educational organisations. Where better than the magical land of giants, monsters and mermaids for a feast of fables, folklore and storytelling?

The opening night of the exhibition on Saturday 6th March at Millennium will feature a live performance from Cornwall based American artist and musician William Fontaine and transformative photographic portraits from London based Italian artist Maria Teresa Gavazzi.

The exhibition will include one room dedicated to The House of Fairy Tales limited edition Print Portfolio, including works by Sir Peter Blake, Fiona Banner and Rachel Whiteread. There will also be a House of Fairy Tales ‘cabinet of memorabilia’ containing information, photographs and artefacts from previous events, including HoFT medals and passports.

To celebrate the beginning of British Summertime there will be poetry, performance, live music and an outdoor parade of paper and willow lanterns during the exhibition’s closing weekend at Millennium.

This exhibition brings together these three remarkable artists for the first time. Each artist is internationally known for responses to pain and anguish associated with aspects of childhood, motherhood, abortion and loss. Now exhibiting together in the unique and intimate surroundings of the Foundling Museum, the artists have engaged in a dramatic visual dialogue relating to the story and themes of the Museum, which memorialises Britain’s first home for abandoned children.

Tracey Emin’s series of discarded baby items cast in bronze and originally shown as part of the Folkestone Triennale in 2008 make extraordinarily powerful and autobiographical references to loss. Equally provoking are Mat Collishaw’s presentation of a photographic series depicting Indian street children with eighteenth-century backdrops, including a lightbox image and a new snowdome work and Paula Rego’s life size figures of waif- like girls and babies depicting the violation and fall of young women.

This unique exhibition continues the legacy begun by William Hogarth in the eighteenth century inviting leading artists of the day to show new work at the Foundling, raising awareness of society’s failings towards vulnerable children and mothers.

To read Waldemar Januszczak’s review of the exhibition in The Independent, click here.

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Late at the Foundling also offers talks with the artists:

…WITH TRACEY EMIN

Friday 19 March, 6pm – 9pm

Artist’s tour £10 (includes a drink), admission only £5.

Come to the Foundling Museum for an evening drink and see the current exhibition “Mat Collishaw, Tracey Emin & Paula Rego: At the Foundling”. Join artist Tracey Emin in conversation with curator Gill Hedley for an exclusive insight into her latest exhibition.

…WITH PAULA REGO

Friday 16 April, 6pm – 9pm

Artist’s tour £10 (includes a drink), admission only £5.

Come to the Foundling Museum for an evening drink and see the current exhibition “Mat Collishaw, Tracey Emin & Paula Rego: At the Foundling”. Join artist Paula Rego in conversation with curator Gill Hedley for an exclusive insight into her latest exhibition.

In 2009, 38 authors joined forces in support of Oxfam to produce 4 brilliant collections of short stories, Ox-Tales, themed loosely on the four elements: EARTH, AIR, FIRE and WATER. Following the successful launch of a popular paperback edition last year, the authors all agreed to sign a unique limited edition box set of the four Ox-Tales books.

14 leading artists – Craigie Aitchison, Sir Peter Blake, Michael Craig-Martin, Mat Collishaw, Antony Gormley, Subodh Gupta, Maggi Hambling, Rachel Howard, John Hoyland, Richard Long, Humphrey Ocean, Joe Tilson, Keith Tyson and Gavin Turk – were given one box each and asked to create an original work of art.

These unique artworks will be auctioned in aid of Oxfam at the Saatchi Gallery on 16th March. The box sets will also be on sale for the first time at the gallery. All proceeds from the auction and sale will go to fund Oxfam’s work in overseas countries.

To download the Ox-Tales catalogue, visit the Oxfam website.

The Saatchi Gallery, Duke of York’s HQ, King’s Road,  London SW3 4SQ
Date: 16th March 2010
Time: 7.00 – 10.00pm

This event is by invitation only.