Quentin Blake’s new London centre is finally opening

London’s cultural calendar is getting a pretty serious upgrade this summer. The Quentin Blake Centre for Illustration is officially opening its doors on the 5th of June, and it’s not just another gallery quietly slipping onto the scene. This one is set to be the largest space in the world dedicated entirely to illustration.

Set in Clerkenwell, the new centre is built to celebrate drawing in all its forms. We’re talking exhibitions, workshops, a library, a creative studio, plus a café and shop to round things off. Importantly, a big chunk of it will be free to access, so you can drop in without feeling like you’ve committed to a full museum marathon.

The opening line-up is doing a lot of heavy lifting, too. One ticket gets you into three exhibitions, each covering very different corners of the illustration world. There’s Quentin Blake: Performance, which brings together more than 100 original works and digs into the theatrical side of the legendary illustrator’s career.

Alongside that is Queer as Comics, billed as the first major UK exhibition exploring queer comic-making, spanning from the 1940s right through to now. Then there’s a show from MURUGIAH, whose bold, slightly surreal style pulls in everything from sci-fi to 2000s pop punk, with a focus on identity and mental health.

If the name rings a bell, it should. Quentin Blake is the artist behind some of the most recognisable children’s book illustrations going, including his long-running collaboration with Roald Dahl. His loose, energetic style has basically defined generations of storytelling, so a centre dedicated to that craft feels long overdue.

The space itself is also leaning into that playful energy. Ahead of opening, the centre has refreshed its visual identity with a flock of illustrated birds, a nod to Blake’s long-standing love of drawing cockatoos and parakeets. Expect to see them dotted across signage and branding, adding a bit of colour and character to the place.

Tickets for the paid exhibitions go on sale from the 29th of April, and given the mix of big names and genuinely fresh perspectives, this is one worth getting in early for. Even if you just swing by for a coffee and a wander through the free spaces, it feels like one of those spots that’s about to become a regular London go-to.

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