A vast new arts space dedicated to illustration and graphics, founded by the celebrated illustrator Quentin Blake, launches this week in a former waterworks located in north London. The Quentin Blake Centre for Illustration is housed at the historic New River Head site in Islington, a complex of industrial buildings dating from the 17th century.
Blake has written or illustrated more than 500 books, with Mrs Armitage and Mr Magnolia among his most famous characters. He is known especially for his drawings for Roald Dahl’s books, including childhood favourites such as The Enormous Crocodile (1978) and The BFG (1982) to life.
A gallery at the new centre is permanently dedicated to Blake’s works with the opening show focused on the illustrator’s theatrical influences (Quentin Blake: Performance, 5 June-1 April 2027). The exhibition includes Blake’s depiction of the actor Laurence Olivier in The Entertainer (1957) at the Royal Court Theatre, London, along with illustrations of works by ancient Greek, Elizabethan and modern playwrights.
An installation view of Quintin Blake: Performance, the opening show in the galleries dedicated to Blake’s work
Photo: Benedict Johnson
Blake told The Telegraph about the impetus behind his drawing, saying: “It is like acting, but you don’t have to learn the words. I get very involved in being that person… I feel the movements. If I’m drawing an arm doing something, it’s not anatomy, it’s gesture.”
Temporary shows at the centre, meanwhile, include Queer as Comics (5 June-4 October) featuring comics, strip cartoons, graphic novels and zines dating from the 1940s and focused on LGBTQ+ perspectives.
Artists featured include Tove Jansson, the creator of the Moomins, the US cartoonist Rupert Kinnard and the British illustrator Kate Charlesworth, who says she endeavours to “represent UK LGBTQ+ life and struggles” with her work. Tom Robinson’s Living with the Big A (1987), which highlights the AIDS crisis of the 1980s, is also included.
A solo show of works by the Sri-Lankan-Welsh artist Murugiah (5 June-31 August) inaugurates a series of collaborations with UK-based illustrators. Murugiah’s work, created on an “ambitious scale” according to a project statement, references Hollywood films, Nintendo games and Sri Lankan art and design.
An installation view of MURUGIAH: Ever Feel Like… at the centre
© Hufton+Crow, Quentin Blake Centre for Illustration
The £12.5m centre was funded via The National Lottery Heritage Fund, which gave £3.5m. Other funders include the London Borough of Islington and numerous foundations including the Julia Rausing Trust, the Garfield Weston foundation and the Roald Dahl Story company along with the Dahl family. Blake’s vast 40,000-strong archive is stored at separate premises.
A standard adult entry ticket, which includes admission to all special exhibitions, costs £16.50. The Quentin Blake Centre for Illustration, which also encompasses a free-entry library and learning spaces, was initially based at a site in King’s Cross from 2014 to 2020.
