Image right of first publication Quentin Blake

In issue 7 of Digital artist we mentioned the UK-based House of illustration in our Top Ten feature I thought it was about time we took a more in-depth look at this awesome organisation.The House of illustration design to set up the UK’s first museum dedicated entirely to illustration.

In 2002, Quentin Blake, Britain’s pre-eminent and internationally acclaimed illustrator, gathered together a group of people who believe passionately that illustration should have a home of its own.  Since then, they have carried out audience development with a number of successful temporary exhibitions. This audience research, backed up by an arts council funded feasibility study, indicates that over 120,000 people would visit the House of illustration every year.

With a number of high profile illustrators supporting the project, including January Pienkowski, Lauren Child, Peter William Blake and bouquet Simmonds, the undertaking has run several exhibition as part of its market research and knowingness activities. These include several retrospective of Quentin Blake’s work, as well as the What Are You Like? exhibition which toured from 2009 and appeared at the hay literary festival this yr Work from these exhibition will form part of the House of Illustration’s permanent wave collection, which will be housed in a regenerated 14,000 foursquare foot Victorian building within a brown field site in London’s King’s Cross. William Blake himself has pledged over 4000 drawing for the collection; in add-on the Queen Victoria & Prince Albert Museum, the Brits museum and the Brits library will be loaning works from their collections.An educational program is in the works with the UK’s Department for Schools, Children and menage to explore the impact that illustration has in the schoolroom and on children who are just discovering the delight of reading The House of illustration design to open its door in October 2012.

To find out more about this fantastic project, visit www.houseofillustration.org.uk