Drawing Inspiration

Budding illustrators and seasoned sketchers alike can ready their pencils and prepare for inspiration to strike as the UK’s first permanent public arts space dedicated to illustration opens on 5 June in Clerkenwell. Beatrice Squires reports.

The Quentin Blake Centre for Illustration is the outcome of a 25-year campaign by the beloved children’s illustrator, Sir Quentin Blake, whose wish was to establish a national centre for illustration. Vibrant, dynamic and pulsating with energy, Blake’s illustrations are unmistakable. Although most famous for his book collaborations with Roald Dahl, Blake has produced a prolific body of work throughout his almost 80-year career.

The inaugural Quentin Blake exhibition, Performance, explores his relationship with the theatre; it features more than 100 of his original works on paper, some never seen before. Highlights include early illustrations for opening-night performances to accompany theatre reviews – namely Laurence Olivier’s lauded role in The Entertainer (1957) and the pantomime inspiration for Dahl’s The Enormous Crocodile (1978). Don’t miss Blake’s Punch magazine illustrations and his recent project of Macbeth characters depicted as birds.

Meanwhile, Queer as Comics is the first UK exhibition of its kind – celebrating 80 years of LGBTQIA+ comics with artworks from more than 60 artists worldwide. Expect comics, strip cartoons, graphic novels and ’zines, from the 1940s to the present day, by both underground and known creators including Tove Jansson, David Shenton and Alison Bechdel. See the UK’s first published gay comic strip, a parody of James Bond featuring James Blond as the ‘randy dandy with the handy pandy’; Rupert Kinnard’s works introducing the first gay Black superhero and Jansson’s Moomin cartoon strip based on her lesbian community.

Elsewhere, MURUGIAH: Ever Feel Like is a kaleidoscopic exploration of identity and mental health via vibrant – sometimes macabre prints, painting and sketches from the British-Sri Lankan illustrator and designer. With three exhibitions, galleries, gardens, a library and a creative studio, there’s plenty to see, do and, of course, be inspired by at London’s brand-new home for illustration. And if you still want to dive even deeper into Blake’s world, head over to the Southbank Centre for Quentin Blake: The Southbank Parade, where you’ll discover a whole procession of his characters across the site.