Quentin Blake Centre for Illustration
The Quentin Blake Centre for Illustration is a dedicated museum and cultural institution celebrating the art of illustration, named in honour of Sir Quentin Blake, the beloved British illustrator best known as the long-time visual collaborator of Roald Dahl. Established to fill a remarkable gap in the UK's cultural landscape — the absence of any major permanent institution devoted solely to illustration as an art form — the centre aims to champion illustrators and their work, educate new generations of artists and readers, and give illustration the serious artistic recognition it deserves. Blake himself, who served as the first Children's Laureate of the United Kingdom from 1999 to 2001, was instrumental in founding the organisation and lending it his name and personal collection, making it both a tribute to his extraordinary career and a living platform for the wider world of illustration.
The centre grew out of the House of Illustration, which was founded in 2014 and was the first public gallery in the UK dedicated entirely to illustration. That earlier organisation eventually evolved and rebranded, with the Quentin Blake Centre for Illustration emerging as its successor and spiritual heir, carrying forward the mission of showcasing original artwork from picture books, editorial illustration, scientific drawing, graphic novels, and beyond. The choice to name the institution after Blake reflects not only his towering status in British illustration but also his active involvement in advocacy for the art form throughout his long career.
The centre is located in the Clerkenwell area of central London, within the London Borough of Islington. This neighbourhood has a long and distinguished association with the arts, crafts, and design, and the surrounding streets are filled with independent studios, galleries, and creative businesses. Clerkenwell itself has a rich history stretching back to the medieval period, and the area retains an atmospheric, layered quality — Georgian terraces sitting alongside Victorian warehouses converted into contemporary creative spaces. The EC1R postcode places the centre in a part of London that feels distinctly characterful and unhurried compared to the busier tourist corridors to the south and west.
Visitors to the centre can expect to encounter rotating exhibitions drawn from Blake's personal archive as well as loan exhibitions featuring both historical and contemporary illustrators from around the world. The programming tends to be thoughtfully curated with families and children firmly in mind, though the exhibitions carry genuine intellectual and artistic depth that appeals to adults and practitioners equally. Workshops, talks, and educational events run regularly, making it a lively venue rather than a purely contemplative gallery space.
Getting to the centre is straightforward by public transport. The nearest London Underground stations are Angel on the Northern line and Farringdon on the Circle, Metropolitan, and Elizabeth lines, both within comfortable walking distance. Numerous bus routes also serve the Clerkenwell Road area. Those arriving by bicycle will find the neighbourhood well connected to London's cycling infrastructure. The area is generally accessible on foot, though visitors with mobility considerations should check directly with the centre regarding specific accessibility provisions within the building itself.
The Quentin Blake Centre represents something genuinely unusual in the London cultural scene: an institution with a clear, focused mission that does not try to be all things to all people, but instead carves out a dedicated space for an art form that has historically been undervalued by major institutions despite its enormous cultural reach and influence. Illustration, after all, shapes how millions of children first encounter stories, ideas, and images of the world, and a centre devoted entirely to it fills a role that is both emotionally resonant and culturally significant.