The moment Sir Quentin Blake saw the abandoned waterworks at New River Head in London’s Clerkenwell, he knew this was the place. “I’m excited that we are in this extraordinary building,” he said. “That it was there – waiting for us – indicates, surely, that we are meant to succeed.”
Britain’s best-loved illustrator, adored for his work in 18 Roald Dahl books and literally hundreds of others, has been campaigning for 25 years to establish a permanent national home for illustration, an art form he believes has been under-appreciated in the UK. “I have long dreamt of a permanent place with ‘Illustration’ above the door,” he said, “and now the amazing reality is that we have it.”
The historic waterworks, which includes London’s oldest surviving windmill and a 19th-century engine house and coal stores, had lain derelict for decades. Following a £12.5 million fundraising campaign that includes support from the National Heritage Lottery Fund, it has been transformed into a suite of galleries and learning spaces, a light-filled cafe and gift shop, terrace and wild-planted gardens.
There is something almost magical about the site, whose irregular lines and quirky curves would not look out of place in one of Blake’s book illustrations. “The building could not be more appropriate if we’d designed it specially,” he said.
The reimagining of the site is the work of the Clerkenwell-based architect Tim Ronalds, whose previous projects include restorations of the Hackney Empire and Wilton’s Music Hall in East London. As with those projects, he has succeeded brilliantly in breathing new life into the disused buildings while keeping their historic character intact.
The Quentin Blake Centre for Illustration opens on June 5 with a vibrant and varied programme of exhibitions across its three gallery spaces. They are aimed at all ages, celebrating illustration in its many forms, and one ticket gives access to all three.
MURUGIAH: Ever feel like… is the first solo exhibition by the multi-disciplinary illustrator. His riotously colourful pieces, including drawings, paintings and a huge sculpture fashioned in felt, are a mash-up of influences from his Sri Lankan heritage and childhood in Wales playing Nintendo and watching cartoons.
Queer as comics is a landmark exhibition that explores the subversive history of queer comic and graphic-novel making from the 1940s to the present day. Many of the artworks by more than 60 artists – ranging from underground creators to influential icons including Tove Jansson, Alison Bechdel and Tom of Finland – are on public display for the first time.
The Centre will also host rotating exhibitions from Blake’s vast archive of more than 40,000 drawings and paintings. The first, entitled Quentin Blake: Performance, showcases his work inspired by theatre, from his early career illustrating opening nights to accompany theatrical reviews to the first public display of a recent series depicting Shakespeare’s Macbeth characters as birds.
“Illustrating is like directing a play,” he said, “except that you also get to design the scenery and play all the parts. I can’t wait for the curtain to go up on the new exhibition.”
He even helped find and develop the exhibition space that is set to become London’s latest cultural destination. At 93, Quentin Blake still has a twinkle in his eye.
“What I’d really like to say is: HURRAH!”
The Quentin Blake Centre for Illustration is at 1 Myddelton Passage, Clerkenwell, London EC1R 1AG. Peter Barron is a trustee of the centre
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