Quentin Blake at St Pancras International, Saturday 17 November 2-5, free admission

Quentin created a large-scale drawing on the theme of travel (with audience assistance) at the the new St Pancras International Station. This was part of the Arrivals festival which celebrated the opening of the new station.

St Pancras International Arrivals

photo copyright Sophie Laslett/Arts Council England

New Quentin Blake logo for The Big Draw 2007

Quentin Blake is a founder patron of the Campaign for Drawing, who kicked off their eighth Big Draw season with a national launch in Tower Hamlets and Hackney, East London.

The Big Draw East took place in Tower Hamlets and Hackney, London on Sunday 30 September 2007 with exciting drawing events for people of all ages and abilities. The emphasis was on access, inclusion and active involvement. Themes included Shape the Future - Designing for Sustainability (in partnership with the Royal Academy of Engineering), Changing Cities, and Body Science/Body Culture.

Before the launch, children, students and adults worked with artists, designers, scientists and architects from the area, well known for its high density of art and design studios. With a team of celebrity 'drawers', these practitioners led activities which ensured a lasting legacy of collective creative achievement.

Campaign for Drawing

Quentin Blake on BBC Radio 4

On 30th August at 11.30 Quentin Blake presented

George Herriman, creator of 'Krazy Kat'. The famous American illustrator George Herriman was born in New Orleans in 1880. Like Quentin Blake, Herriman first earned money from his drawings by selling a sketch to a newspaper (in Herriman's case the Los Angeles Herald), while he was still a teenager. He is best-remembered today for the daily strip cartoon Krazy Kat which appeared from 1913 until his death in 1944. Herriman was also the illustrator for the first printed edition of Don Marquis' archy and mehitabel stories.

BBC website

Quentin Blake's 'Clown' at Polka Theatre, until 28 July 2007

The magical world of Quentin Blake came alive at the Polka Theatre in London. This was the final appearance of the show after a two-year UK tour.

Clown, from the book of the same name, finds himself thrown head-first into a dustbin, along with lots of other discarded toys. Bravely, he takes charge of his fate and goes off in search of help – and a new home.

The show was brought to Polka by acclaimed touring children’s theatre company Travelling Light.

The show had no words and was brought to life through a highly physical and visual performance style, involving dance, puppetry, clowning and live music throughout. It had particular appeal for deaf and hearing-impaired audiences as well as for non-English speakers.

Click here for Travelling Light

Click here for Polka Theatre

Quentin Blake at the Institute of Education - No Escape

Quentin Blake addressed fellow alumni of the Institute of Education, University of London, on Tuesday 10 July, 6.30pm. Blake has described himself as an “escaped teacher” and he will explain how the educational concerns that he carries from his time at the Institute permeate the way he works on children’s books, the school activities that have been brought about by those books and their motivating effect on reading. He will also talk about his Sailing Boat in the Sky project in France and his more recent curatorial ventures in presenting exhibitions at the National Gallery in London and the Petit Palais in Paris.

New building in Quentin's old school named after him

Chislehurst and Sidcup Grammar School was Quentin’s secondary school (he was taught  English there by a man called JH Walsh who he says really inspired him). It’s now recognising its famous ex-student by naming its new art block after him. Quentin was there on 29 March to declare the building open.

Quentin Blake decorates Book Bus

Quentin shares with renowned publisher Tom Maschler the belief that books can change lives. Tom devised the idea of a Book Bus  which would extend the benefits books bring to people who have little access to them. It’s also a part of the international drive to provide essential aid to areas of Africa in extreme need . The bus, an old Leyland Tiger converted into a library, will travel to remote villages, schools, HIV/AIDS hospitals and orphanages throughout Zambia. The emphasis will be on enjoyment. Wherever the bus stops stops, young children will visit  the marquee pitched alongside the bus. A team of Zambian and British writers, artists and musicians will read to the children and encourage them to paint and to make music. A box of books will be donated to each community when the bus moves on.
The Book Bus will be in Africa for several months later this year. As well as  bringing the joy of books to local populations it will introduce many thousands of people to the art of Quentin Blake - the white bus will be covered with Quentin’s coloured drawings and will be visible for miles!
The Book Bus is a UK registered charity and, funding –permitted, it will make further book-bringing journeys in the future.
To  catch up with the latest news on preparations for the journey, and follow the tour itself, visit the bookbus website. Donations can also be made online via the website. 

The Book Bus at its launch in Trafalgar Square 2 March 2007

Quentin Blake in the People’s Archive

Filmed in January 2006, Quentin Blake talks in detail about his life and work, his collaborations  with publishers, authors and galleries and, his passion for illustration. His life story is also accompanied by a range of additional features including a biography, bibliography as well as seven illustrations of his work and a 10 minute documentary, which takes us to his studio and where he shows us how he brings his characters to life. Start viewing his life story here www.peoplesarchive.com

Quentin Blake and the Unicorn Theatre

The Unicorn creates inspiring and entertaining productions in London's only purpose-built theatre for children.

In December 2006, to mark the first birthday in their new £14 million home on London's South Bank, Quentin Blake drew two celebratory illustrations for the Unicorn.

"One of the Capital's most exciting new theatre spaces."
Time Out - February 2007

To see what's on, book tickets and find out more about the Unicorn go to

www.unicorntheatre.com

Children join Quentin Blake and enter the 'Land of Illustrations'

'In the Land of Illustrations' was a major new national initiative between Arts & Kids, Land Securities and The Quentin Blake Gallery of Illustration, launched in September 2005 it gave young people the opportunity to explore their creativity by illustrating the place in which they live.

'In the Land of Illustrations' encouraged children to think about, illustrate and take pride in the place they live. Children were inspired by seeing local landmarks and exploring the stories which bring their local environment to life. They also gained a real sense of pride from seeing their artwork on public display at one of 14 nationwide shopping centres.

At the heart of the project was a book for each school, created as a long lasting introduction to illustration and a reflection of how artists have previously depicted people and places, alongside a commentary from Quentin Blake. Accompanying the book was a brief, designed to fit into the curriculum for Years 5 and 6, that encouraged children to think about where they live and how they can depict this through illustration.

Quentin Blake, Patron of the Prince of Wales Arts & Kids Foundation: "There are many different ways of drawing the life of your own place and when you start to find out how things came to be there, you may find that it too is a sort of voyage of discovery. This work fits into the curriculum and gives children the opportunity to dream to draw and to capture how they feel about the place they live in."

Colin Tweedy, Chief Executive of Arts & Business, said: "HRH, The Prince of Wales launched The Arts & Kids Challenge to bring the brightest and best of the arts alive for one million children across the UK. Since then, the Arts & Kids Challenge has captured the imagination in ways that we could never have foreseen and we are delighted to have touched the lives of over 550,000 children. By working alongside Land Securities with initiatives like 'In the Land of Illustrations' we hope to reach even more children and see them benefit from direct access to the arts."

Francis Salway, Chief Executive of Land Securities, commented: "We are delighted to be involved with Arts and Kids in this national programme, which will encourage children to think creatively about the place they live. The artwork developed from this project will help inspire a visually more interesting and unique shopping environment, hopefully instilling a sense of belonging and pride amongst the local community."

The children's illustrations, either individual or groupwork, were displayed at one of 14 Land Securities shopping centres in the October half term. All of the artwork displayed at the Land Securities owned shopping centres around the UK was exhibited in London in early 2006.