Quentin Blake Centre for Illustration

Photograph of exterior of industrial brick buildings
The Engine House and Coal Stores at New River Head, the site for the future Quentin Blake Centre for Illustration

Quentin Blake Centre for Illustration (formerly House of Illustration) is the only public arts organisation in the UK dedicated to illustration. It was founded by Quentin Blake in 2002 and is based in London, England. From 2014 to 2020, it was located at 2 Granary Square in the London Borough of Camden and called House of Illustration.[1]

Photograph of a display case containing an ink pot and pen with an illustration of Quentin Blake and the words "What does an illustrator think about?"
Quentin Blake: Inside Stories exhibition at House of Illustration, 2014

In July 2020 it was announced that the House of Illustration at Granary Square would relocate to a building in the London Borough of Islington and be renamed to become the Quentin Blake Centre for Illustration.[2]

Previous House of Illustration exhibitions have shown a diverse range of illustration, including advertisements, animation, comic books and manga, children's literature, propaganda, political cartoons, scientific illustration and fashion design. Subjects have included Cuban graphic design,[3] feminist comics[4] and retrospectives of artists including Enid Marx,[5] Tom of Finland,[6] and Jacqueline Ayer.[7]

Relocation 2020-2026

In July 2020 it was announced House of Illustration at Granary Square would close and that the organisation would relocate to industrial heritage site New River Head in the Clerkenwell area in the London Borough of Islington.[2] The site's 18th- and 19th-century buildings were restored as part of a £12m capital campaign.[8] The new site was named the Quentin Blake Centre for Illustration.[2]

The new site opened on 5 June 2026, with renovations costing £12.5m. The space was paid for with funding from the National Lottery Heritage Fund, the London Borough of Islington, various trusts, and Blake's own investments.[9] The centre features three exhibition galleries: one that is dedicated to Blake's work, and two other spaces with rotated exhibitions.[10] There is also a public illustration library that holds more than 1,000 books, graphic novels, and zines.[11] A café on site is home to a 5-metre illustration that Blake drew specifically for the centre.[12]

References

  1. ↑ "About". Quentin Blake Centre for Illustration. Retrieved 18 October 2022.
  2. 1 2 3 Edmonds, Zoe; Paskett, Lizzie (28 July 2020). "House of Illustration to launch new gallery named after Quentin Blake". Evening Standard. Retrieved 18 October 2022.
  3. ↑ "Designed in Cuba: Cold War Graphics review | Museums in London". Time Out London. October 2019. Retrieved 18 October 2022.
  4. ↑ "Comix Creatrix: where women artists and stories are the big draw". the Guardian. 29 January 2016. Retrieved 18 October 2022.
  5. ↑ McLaughlin, Aimée (25 May 2018). "The remarkable prints and patterns of Enid Marx". Creative Review. Retrieved 18 October 2022.
  6. ↑ AnotherMan (5 March 2020). "Inside the UK's First Tom of Finland Exhibition". AnotherMan. Retrieved 18 October 2022.
  7. ↑ "The groundbreaking children's books that drew on life in Thailand". the Guardian. 17 June 2017. Retrieved 18 October 2022.
  8. ↑ "Drawing on ghosts of the city: a new home for House of Illustration". Financial Times. 12 October 2020. Retrieved 18 October 2022.
  9. ↑ "Quentin Blake Centre for Illustration opens in 18th-century waterworks following £12.5m transformation". The Bookseller. Retrieved 4 June 2026.
  10. ↑ Willix, Pierra (1 June 2026). "Quentin Blake Centre for Illustration to showcase 'overlooked' art form". The Standard. Retrieved 4 June 2026.
  11. ↑ Downes, Annabel (3 June 2026). "First Look: Time Out's review of the Quentin Blake Centre for Illustration". Time Out London. Retrieved 4 June 2026.
  12. ↑ Hardaker, Alistair (1 June 2026). "Quentin Blake creates mural for future venue's waterworks history". Museums + Heritage. Retrieved 4 June 2026.

51°32′08″N 0°07′26″W / 51.535684°N 0.123868°W / 51.535684; -0.123868

This page is issued from Wikipedia. The text is available under Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 4.0 unless otherwise noted. Additional terms may apply for the media files.