Quentin Blake Centre to open in May 2026 as world's largest illustration museum
- maxwell museums
- 23 minutes ago
- 4 min read
Twenty years in the making, the Quentin Blake Centre for Illustration will open to the public in May 2026 as one of London’s newest museums. While the exact opening date is yet to be revealed, when completed it will be the world’s largest dedicated space for illustration.
After its grand unveiling, the Centre will feature regularly changing exhibitions across three galleries. It’ll also have learning spaces, a free library, a café and a shop, and half an acre of new public gardens.
The new Quentin Blake museum is located in Clerkenwell, central London, and is housed in a previously-derelict 18th Century waterworks.
Speaking to me and this website, Director Lindsey Glen said the centre will be a place “where people can explore [illustration’s] role in our lives.”
What is the Quentin Blake Centre for Illustration?
The Quentin Blake Centre for Illustration will be the UK’s only permanent place exhibiting illustration.
But you might be wondering what exactly is illustration?
Well illustration is the artform that visually interprets and enhances text, ideas or concepts through images, drawings or graphics.
Most people will think of the illustrations that appear alongside the text in books, especially children’s books, but it can be found everywhere — from advertising to digital games.
As Glen explained to me, “illustration is a universal form of communication, used through time, all over the world, to exchange stories and ideas, to explain and persuade.”
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Sir Quentin Blake’s illustration museum vision
The Centre is the brainchild of Britain’s most famous illustrator, Sir Quentin Blake.
Blake’s first illustration was published in Punch magazine in 1949 when he was still at school, and since then he’s written and illustrated more than 500 books. His most popular works are the illustrations for Roald Dahl’s books, including Matilda, Fantastic Mr Fox and The Twits.
Blake has been trying to establish a permanent home to champion this art form for well over 20 years. He set up a charity for the medium in 2002, the same charity that is now opening this new gallery. A temporary rented home — called the House of Illustration — was found in London’s King’s Cross from 2014 to 2020.
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Director Lindsey Glen told maxwell museums that working with Sir Quentin on his long-held vision has been “a joy and a privilege.”
“Quentin's archive is extraordinary” she says, and it features “over 40,000 artworks created over seven decades of literary collaborations, picture books, commercial projects and community installations.”
He's also been “a tireless advocate for the art form and adamant that the Centre must champion illustration in all its forms.”
But he won’t be involved in the Centre’s day-to-day running. “He doesn't get involved in curatorial choices — he'd rather be drawing — but he's always delighted to hear about our plans.”
Now, after Blake’s 20-year dream, the permanent museum is nearly a reality.
First exhibition MURUGIAH: Ever Feel Like
When it opens, everything on show will change and rotate regularly, including original illustrations from leading and emerging illustrators, and works loaned from Blake’s own archive.
Temporary exhibitions will feature rarely-seen historic and contemporary works from international collections too. The centre’s debut show will be the first solo exhibition of illustrator, artist and designer MURUGIAH, and will bring together his vibrant prints, paintings and sketches.
The show — titled MURUGIAH: Ever Feel Like — will feature newly commissioned works that will immerse visitors in MURUGIAH’s distinctive world, drawing on (pun intended!) his Sri Lankan heritage and Welsh upbringing. It’ll also explore his collaborations with organisations including Refugee Week, Apple and Sir Elton John.
How much is the Quentin Blake Centre costing to build?
The cost for creating the new Quentin Blake Centre for Illustration is £12.5m. The money has come from trusts, foundations and philanthropists, including a £3.75 million grant from The National Lottery Heritage Fund, and investment by the London Borough of Islington.
Now the countdown is on to the opening.
I asked Glen what is giving her the most sleepless nights as we head towards May 2026.
“Ideas!" she told me. "Illustration is dynamic and multi-faceted. How do you do justice to its fascinating story and the breadth of its applications today? There are so many possibilities: who do you include and when?”
But above all, for Glen the new Centre is about sparking joy.
“We hope lots of people…discover things that are surprising, familiar, joyful and thought-provoking – about illustration and about their own creativity.”
Elsewhere in London in 2026: