Quentin Blake's Sprawling Centre For Illustration To Launch In London The Art Newspaper International Art News And Events

A former waterworks in north London is about to take on a very different life. This week, the Quentin Blake Centre for Illustration opens at New River Head in Islington, bringing illustration and graphics into a historic industrial complex that dates to the 17th century.

Founded by British illustrator Quentin Blake (b. 1932), the center gives his work a permanent home within a new gallery. The opening exhibition, Quentin Blake: Performance, runs from June 5, 2026 to April 1, 2027 and focuses on the theatrical sources that have long shaped his drawing. Among the works on view is Blake's 1957 image of Laurence Olivier in The Entertainer at the Royal Court Theatre in London, alongside illustrations connected to ancient Greek, Elizabethan, and modern playwrights.

Blake has written or illustrated more than 500 books, and his characters Mrs Armitage and Mr Magnolia remain among his best known. He is also closely associated with Roald Dahl's books, including The Enormous Crocodile (1978) and The BFG (1982), which helped define his place in British visual culture for generations of readers.

The center's temporary program begins with Queer as Comics, on view from June 5 to October 4. The exhibition gathers comics, strip cartoons, graphic novels, and zines dating back to the 1940s, with a focus on LGBTQ+ perspectives. Featured artists include Tove Jansson, Rupert Kinnard, and Kate Charlesworth, who has said she aims to“represent UK LGBTQ+ life and struggles” in her work. Tom Robinson's Living with the Big A (1987), which addresses the AIDS crisis of the 1980s, is also included.

A solo exhibition by Sri-Lankan-Welsh artist Murugiah runs from June 5 to August 31 and launches a series of collaborations with UK-based illustrators. According to the project statement, the work is presented on an“ambitious scale” and draws on Hollywood films, Nintendo games, and Sri Lankan art and design.

The £12.5 million center was funded in part by a £3.5 million grant from The National Lottery Heritage Fund, with additional support from the London Borough of Islington, the Julia Rausing Trust, the Garfield Weston foundation, the Roald Dahl Story company, and the Dahl family. Standard adult admission is £16.50 and includes access to all special exhibitions. Blake's 40,000-item archive is stored elsewhere, and the center previously operated in King's Cross from 2014 to 2020.

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