The world's biggest gallery for illustrations will open in London in May - and it's just revealed its first exhibitions

"The Quentin Blake Centre for Illustration is opening its doors in May. Set in an eighteenth century waterworks in Clerkenwell, it'll be the largest gallery for illustrations in the world, showcasing work from legends of the art form alongside rising stars."

"Quentin Blake: Performance will showcase how Blake's illustrations have been informed by theatrical traditions, with more than 100 of his original works on display. In his early career, he illustrated opening night performances to sit next to theatre reviews and later on drew the work of Ancient Greek, Elizabethan and modern playwrights, from William Shakespeare to Samuel Beckett."

"The centre's other inaugural exhibition will be the UK's first show dedicated to LGBTQ+ comic-makers. Titled Queer as Comics, it'll track queer comic-making from the 1940s to the present day with strip cartoons, graphic novels, zines and, of course, comics."

"It'll feature the UK's first published gay comic strip (a 1969 parody of James Bond - 'randy dandy with the handy pandy'), the first gay black superhero and Tove Jansson's Moomin cartoon strip based on herself and the lesbian community, which was published in the London Evening Standard. There'll be works from more than 60 artists, many of which have never been on public display before."

The Quentin Blake Centre for Illustration, opening in May in a converted eighteenth-century waterworks in Clerkenwell, will be the world's largest gallery dedicated to illustration. The inaugural exhibitions include Quentin Blake: Performance, showcasing over 100 of Blake's original works and his connections to theatrical traditions spanning from Ancient Greek drama to modern playwrights. Queer as Comics marks the UK's first exhibition dedicated to LGBTQ+ comic-makers, tracing queer comic history from the 1940s to present day with works from over 60 artists, including the UK's first published gay comic strip from 1969 and previously unpublished pieces. A third exhibition features rising star Murugiah, establishing the centre's commitment to showcasing both legendary and emerging illustrators.

Read at Time Out London