Quentin Blake Centre for Illustration: A permanent home for illustration

Discover how a Charity Bank loan supported the redevelopment of a historic London waterworks to help create the world’s largest dedicated space for illustration. 

Social Need  

Illustration helps people understand ideas, tell stories and communicate across cultures and disciplines. It is present in everything from books and education to public information and activism, yet it has historically lacked the same institutional visibility as other art forms.  

Without a dedicated space, opportunities to engage wider audiences, support illustrators and explore illustration’s role in society have been limited. 

Organisation 

The Quentin Blake Centre for Illustration (formerly House of Illustration) is the UK’s first and only charity dedicated to illustration. Founded in 2002 by the celebrated illustrator Quentin Blake, the charity works with artists, schools, communities and cultural partners to explore how illustration connects people to stories, ideas and experiences.  

Through exhibitions, residencies and learning programmes, the charity supports illustrators to develop their practice and enables people of all ages to engage with illustration. Its work focuses on making illustration more accessible, creating opportunities for people to share their own stories and building a wider understanding of the role illustration plays in everyday life. 

Loan  

The charity set out to create a permanent home for illustration, a space that reflects its importance as an art form and allows more people to engage with it. 

Charity Bank provided a loan to refinance earlier project funding and provide cashflow during the development and fundraising period. The funding supported the redevelopment of the New River Head site in Clerkenwell, London, including final-stage capital works and associated project costs, while also helping to cover operational expenses during delivery. 

This enabled the charity to complete the transformation of disused historic buildings into a centre for illustration, bringing together galleries, learning spaces and a public illustration library in one place. As a result, the organisation has moved from temporary premises into a long-term home, expanding what it can offer to artists, schools and the wider public. 

Impact 

The Quentin Blake Centre for Illustration provides a permanent home for illustration in the UK, raising the profile of an art form that shapes how people understand stories, ideas and the world around them. 

With a dedicated, purpose-built space, the charity can now reach more people through exhibitions, workshops and learning programmes, giving wider audiences the opportunity to engage with illustration and develop their own creative skills. 

By bringing its work together in one place, the Centre also strengthens support for illustrators, creating space for collaboration, experimentation and new voices to emerge. 

The project has been made possible through a combination of funding from trusts, foundations, public bodies, lenders and Quentin Blake himself. Together, this investment has restored a historic site and brought it back into public use as a space for culture, learning and community. 

“Illustration is a powerful way of helping people understand stories, ideas and each other. With Charity Bank’s help, we’ve been able to establish a sustainable, inclusive national centre for the artform, enabling us to exhibit and tour exhibitions that explore illustration’s role in our lives, and empower many more people as illustrators themselves. A disused heritage site has been transformed into exhibition galleries, a Library, participation spaces and a creative garden, plus a café and shop to entice visitors and generate revenue. The project has been made possible thanks to the support of a wide range of funders and partners, and we’ve really valued Charity Bank’s role in making our vision a reality.” 

Lindsey Glen, Director, Quentin Blake Centre for Illustration 

You can find out more about Quentin Blake Centre for Illustration on their website: qbcentre.org.uk