Quentin Blake Centre for Illustration opening date announced
Friday 24th April 2026
On Friday 5 June, Quentin Blake Centre for Illustration will open its doors to visitors at
its new home in a restored waterworks in Clerkenwell. The Centre will be London’s
newest cultural destination, offering vibrant and varied activities and displays for people
of all ages.
The opening follows a 25-year campaign by the UK’s much-loved illustrator
Quentin Blake to establish a permanent national centre for illustration, and builds on
the charity’s previous temporary stint as House of Illustration in Kings Cross (2014-2020).
A dynamic programme of exhibitions across three gallery spaces will explore illustration
in all its forms:
- Performance (Quentin Blake) will explore how theatrical traditions
have influenced his long career;
- Queer as Comics, curated by Paul Gravett, a landmark exhibition depicting for the
first time in the UK stories of fantasy, identity and resistance told across time by queer
comic-makers;
- MURUGIAH: Ever Feel Like… will immerse visitors into the British-Sri Lankan illustrator and designer’s kaleidoscopic world.
The Centre’s opening follows the redevelopment of a derelict 18th and 19th-century waterworks at New River Head in Clerkenwell, London, led by Tim Ronalds Architects. Support for the £12.5m project includes £3.75 million from The National Lottery Heritage Fund thanks to money raised by National Lottery players. Other investment includes the London Borough of Islington and support from trusts, foundations and philanthropists.
Alongside paid-for exhibition areas, visitors will also be able to experience free-to-access spaces such as an illustration library, gardens,, café and shop,
For the latest updates on ticketing information, access and opening times, see Quentin Blake Centre for Illustration website
its new home in a restored waterworks in Clerkenwell. The Centre will be London’s
newest cultural destination, offering vibrant and varied activities and displays for people
of all ages.
The opening follows a 25-year campaign by the UK’s much-loved illustrator
Quentin Blake to establish a permanent national centre for illustration, and builds on
the charity’s previous temporary stint as House of Illustration in Kings Cross (2014-2020).
A dynamic programme of exhibitions across three gallery spaces will explore illustration
in all its forms:
- Performance (Quentin Blake) will explore how theatrical traditions
have influenced his long career;
- Queer as Comics, curated by Paul Gravett, a landmark exhibition depicting for the
first time in the UK stories of fantasy, identity and resistance told across time by queer
comic-makers;
- MURUGIAH: Ever Feel Like… will immerse visitors into the British-Sri Lankan illustrator and designer’s kaleidoscopic world.
The Centre’s opening follows the redevelopment of a derelict 18th and 19th-century waterworks at New River Head in Clerkenwell, London, led by Tim Ronalds Architects. Support for the £12.5m project includes £3.75 million from The National Lottery Heritage Fund thanks to money raised by National Lottery players. Other investment includes the London Borough of Islington and support from trusts, foundations and philanthropists.
Alongside paid-for exhibition areas, visitors will also be able to experience free-to-access spaces such as an illustration library, gardens,, café and shop,
For the latest updates on ticketing information, access and opening times, see Quentin Blake Centre for Illustration website
