The Quentin Blake Centre for Illustration in London has extended ‘MURUGIAH: Ever Feel Like…’ until 4 October after reporting that more than 15,000 people have visited the centre in just over two months. The announcement comes as the centre says it has become the world’s largest space dedicated to illustration, and it has also added new outdoor works to its site.
According to the centre’s latest newsletter, the exhibition extension is a response to popularity rather than a new programme change. Tickets for ‘MURUGIAH: Ever Feel Like…’ are now on sale until the end of September, giving visitors an extra month to see the show before its revised closing date. The email quotes the Financial Times describing the exhibition as “a pop blast of vivid colour,” though the centre’s own notice does not add further curatorial detail.
The update also highlights two permanent additions to the centre’s outside spaces. One is a giant wishing horse sculpture celebrating the site’s heritage, and the other is a weathervane cockatoo designed by Quentin Blake. The centre says visitors can use the horse as part of its outdoor activities, alongside play benches and specially designed features dotted throughout the site.
The newsletter places the extension within a busy summer of activity at the illustration centre. The venue says it will open on August Bank Holiday Monday with special activities planned, and its current programme includes free weekly Wednesday drop-ins for making and storytelling, aimed at families and under-fives. The centre also points readers to its online shop, which it says is now open for orders.
Alongside the exhibition news, the centre is promoting a set of courses beginning in September. ‘Introduction to Illustration’, led by illustrator Lily Kong, runs on Wednesdays from 2 September to 7 October in person, while ‘Creating Comics with Purpose’, facilitated by comic creator Cathy G Johnson, runs online on Wednesdays from 9 September to 14 October. The centre also describes these as six-week courses for people interested in building illustration and comic-making skills.
The Quentin Blake Centre for Illustration has also used the newsletter to revisit its institutional identity, noting Quentin Blake’s long-standing commitment to promoting illustration. It links that context to an archival interview in which Blake discussed the humour in his work and compared illustrating to directing a play. Separately, the centre’s current programme list on its website shows ‘Quentin Blake: Performance’ and ‘Queer as comics’ alongside ‘MURUGIAH: Ever Feel Like…’, all under the centre’s What’s on page at 1 Myddelton Passage, London EC1R 1AG.
