Centre in Progress
8–18 September 2022
Quentin Blake Centre for Illustration, Clerkenwell
8 to 11 and 15 to 18 September, Free entry
Opening hours: Thursdays and Fridays 12:00 – 14:00, Saturdays and Sundays 12:00 – 17:00
Please note: ensure you attend the correct location. The site address is Quentin Blake Centre for Illustration, Rear of 28 Amwell Street, London, EC1R 1XU.
You can visit without a ticket, but you may have to queue for entry.
Open this weekend
Visit the derelict industrial site that will become the national centre for illustration, with installations by Laura Copsey & Philip Crewe and Sharpay Chenyuè Yuán.
We are restoring a 300-year-old former waterworks to create the Quentin Blake Centre for Illustration. The official opening will be in 2024, but for a limited time in September you can visit the site before its transformation, find out more about our plans and tell us what you’d like to see when we open.
The site – New River Head – has a fascinating history as the hub of one of London’s first major pieces of urban infrastructure, but its unique 18th and 19th century buildings have been locked up for 70 years. On your visit, you can see this unique space and find out more about its history at installations by our illustrators in residence.
Laura Copsey(opens in new window) & Philip Crewe(opens in new window)’s New River Folk is a fictional museum commemorating three real people connected to the site. With storied objects made by traditional craft and site-specific processes, Copsey & Crewe give insights into the lives of the working-class women and men who are little-seen in New River Head’s ‘official’ histories.
Sharpay Chenyuè Yuán(opens in new window)’s Lost Springs, Coming Spring is an epic 25 metre-long drawing that overlays New River Head’s abandoned buildings with scenes from its active past. She references major moments in the site’s history and the labour of the men and women who worked there.
Also on show will be prints made by the New River using cameraless photography.
Guided tours will be available via the Open House Festival website very soon. Sign up to our newsletter to be first to hear when booking opens.
Part of Open House Festival and London Design Festival 2022.
Our illustration residencies are made possible with generous support from the Barbara and Philip Denny Trust.
Centre in Progress will take place on the following dates:
Thursday, 08 September, 12:00pm – 14:00pm
Friday, 09 September, 12:00pm – 14:00pm
Saturday, 10 September, 12:00pm – 17:00pm
Sunday, 11 September, 12:00pm – 17:00pm
Thursday, 15 September, 12:00pm – 14:00pm
Friday, 16 September, 12:00pm – 14:00pm
Saturday, 17 September, 12:00pm – 17:00pm
Sunday, 18 September, 12:00pm – 17:00pm
The site address is Quentin Blake Centre for Illustration, Rear of 28 Amwell Street, London, EC1R 1XU.
Find us on Google Maps(opens in new window)
Find us on what3words: ///loaded.craft.makes(opens in new window)
Our site is in Congestion Charge(opens in new window), Controlled Parking(opens in new window) and Ultra Low Emissions Zones(opens in new window). We encourage the use of public transport.
The nearest stations are Angel and Farringdon, with buses stopping nearby on Rosebery Avenue and Pentonville Road. Farringdon Thameslink station is the station with the smallest step and gap between carriage and platform and is suitable for wheelchair users. Please see Transport for London’s accessibility guide(opens in new window) for more information.
It is possible to drive up to the entrance of the site to make drop offs. We have one disabled parking space. Please contact us to arrange a drop off or to book the space access@qbcentre.org.uk.
New River Head is a derelict site of around half an acre enclosed by a fence. There is one entry gate.
Most people spend between 30 minutes and one hour on their visit.
All our staff receive disability awareness training.
The ground outside is concrete. There are three different buildings that visitors can go inside. There are no steps to reach any of the spaces, however the ground throughout the site is uneven with some cobbled areas. Trip hazards will be clearly signposted or cordoned off.
There are two portable toilets. The dimensions are 1166x1215mm, and the door width is 639mm.
There is no water or electricity.
There are no catering facilities.
It is possible to drive up to the entrance of the site, and we have one disabled parking bay. Please contact us to arrange a drop off or book the space access@qbcentre.org.uk.
We will update this page with comprehensive site information very soon, but if you have any queries in the meantime please contact us access@qbcentre.org.uk.
If you would like to have a look at the site before you visit, you can take a virtual tour.
Due to the condition of the site, we are unable to admit young people under 8. Young people over the age of 8–16 may be admitted if supervised by a responsible adult.
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