Running from 22 October to 3 November and presented at the Upstairs Gallery at Craftco in Southwold, A Bigger Story is a collaboration of three celebrated artists: Mario Minichiello, Liz Anelli and textile artist Carole Chiverton. The exhibition draws on the power of visual storytelling across disciplines, combining reportage drawing, illustration, printmaking and textile art to explore how stories are communicated through art, journalism, memory and place.
Professor Minichiello, co-founder of the Future Arts, Science and Technology Laboratory (FASTLab), is widely recognised for his work as a political artist and illustrator for BBC Newsnight and The Guardian. Known for creating sharp, expressive drawings and intricate lino prints in response to major political and social events, his work has appeared nationally and internationally and is held in both public and private collections.
Another collaborator is Liz Anelli, a former member of Loughborough staff and internationally recognised children’s book illustrator whose career has spanned both the UK and Australia. Her richly detailed artwork has received numerous awards and accolades, including recognition for environmental and children’s literature illustration. Anelli is best known for books such as Desert Lake and Maddie’s First Day, where her unique blend of collage, mixed media and printmaking brings stories and landscapes vividly to life.
The exhibition also features the work of Carole Chiverton, an accomplished craft and fabric artist whose textile-based practice adds another dimension to the exhibition.
Hosted in the historic Craftco gallery on Southwold High Street, A Bigger Story invites visitors to consider how artists create meaning through materials and narratives. Through the media of drawing, illustration, printmaking and textiles, the collaborative show unpacks the ways in which art can capture personal experience as well as wider cultural stories. Visitors can expect a diverse collection of works that reflect the artists’ shared interest in storytelling and the human experience.
Visit the exhibition
A Bigger Story
Dates: 22 October to 3 November 2026
Venue: Upstairs Gallery, Craftco, 40A High Street, Southwold, Suffolk, IP18 6AE
Opening hours: 10.30am to 5pm daily (10.30am to 4pm on Sundays)
Loughborough alumni, staff and students may also be interested in attending The Under the Pier Show, a celebrated collection of interactive seaside amusements created by engineer, artist and cartoonist Tim Hunkin on Southwold Pier.