Legendary Roald Dahl illustrator Quentin Blake is getting his own museum gallery in London next year.
The Quentin Blake Centre for Illustration is currently in the works, with plans to open in May 2026.
It will live in Clerkenwell, on the site of a former waterworks.
The gallery will, of course, display plenty of Quentin Blake’s own works. But it will also show the creations of other artists, too. The glue that brings it all together: illustration.
“I have long dreamt of a permanent place with ‘illustration’ above the door, and now the amazing reality is that we have it,” says Quentin Blake, who is trucking on at the age of 92.
“Illustration is a wonderful, universal and varied language. Here we shall celebrate its traditions and welcome the astonishing diversity of visual language from across the world.”
This will be a new home for the House of Illustration, which has for years held exhibitions focused on illustration across the UK, including the works of Blake.
For example, in 2024, it organised a touring exhibition of Blake’s book covers, which popped up across the UK last year.
Other artists showcased by the House of Illustration include Posy Simmonds, Tom of Finland and John Vernon Lord.
The team has also announced the first temporary exhibition planned for the centre: Murugiah: Ever Feel Like…. Murugiah is a British Sri Lankan artist with a super-colourful style who has worked on installations, gig posters, murals and custom Vans footwear designs, as well as his own self-propelled works.
It's brilliant stuff.
The centre will offer three galleries as well as gardens, a cafe and studio spaces in which workshops will run.
The Quentin Blake Centre for Illustration is the fruit of a project that began in 2022, helmed by Blake and other illustrators, with the aim of creating the “UK’s first public place dedicated to illustration.”
We'll be back with more details closer to the centre's opening.
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