The Guardian editorial announces the opening of the UK's first permanent centre for illustration, the Quentin Blake Centre for Illustration, housed in a repurposed 17th-century waterworks in London's Clerkenwell. The centre is the largest of its kind in the world and is the brainchild of 93-year-old Sir Quentin Blake, who is donating his archive of 40,000 drawings. Inaugural exhibitions include "Queer as Comics," tracing the mainstreaming of once-marginalised voices in illustration, from Tove Jansson's Moomin to Alice Oseman's Heartstopper.
This development matters because illustration has long been undervalued compared to fine art and literature, despite being many people's first encounter with art through picture books. The editorial argues that visual literacy is crucial, especially amid a reading crisis, and that illustration reflects shifting cultural sensibilities while remaining under threat from AI. By establishing a national institution devoted to the craft, the UK is finally treating illustration with the seriousness it deserves, though it still trails countries like France, where comic books are considered "the ninth art."