LONDON.- House of Illustration, the UK’s centre for illustration and graphics, has appointed Lindsey Glen as its new Director.

Lindsey joins House of Illustration from the Royal Opera House, where she is currently Head of Policy and Strategy. She will take up her new role on 30 November 2020. Current Acting Director Olivia Ahmad will return to her role as Artistic Director.

Speaking about her appointment, Lindsey says "I am so excited by the vibrancy and immediacy of illustration: its rich heritage and its power to open up new stories, voices and ideas. Having long admired the imaginative and thoughtful ways in which House of Illustration has championed the artform, and the extraordinary practice of its founder Sir Quentin Blake, I am delighted to have been invited to lead it into its next phase, establishing the Quentin Blake Centre for Illustration at the beautiful site of New River Head."

Chair of Trustees John Kampfner says “In Lindsey Glen we have found exactly the right person to take the organisation to a new level – an inspirational arts professional and enthusiast for illustration who will oversee one of the most important new cultural projects for London and the UK."




Lindsey joins House of Illustration at a pivotal moment, as it recently announced an £8m project to redevelop New River Head in Islington, London into the world’s largest public arts space dedicated to illustration.

The renamed Quentin Blake Centre for Illustration will be a new cultural landmark for London and the UK that will establish illustration as an art form to be reckoned with. It will also become a permanent home for the archive of the organisation’s founder, Sir Quentin Blake, with selections from his archive of more than 40,000 works on permanent display.

Work is scheduled to begin in 2021, with the organisation repurposing four 18th and 19th century industrial buildings and half an acre of surrounding land into exhibition galleries, an education centre, event spaces and retail and catering facilities. It is due to open in late 2022.

House of Illustration has already raised over £3 million of its £8 million target, and has secured £1 million in financing from the Architectural Heritage Fund through its Heritage Impact Fund to support its first development phase. The balance is set to be raised through individual donations, grants from trusts, foundations and a public fundraising campaign.

House of Illustration’s original site at 2 Granary Square, King’s Cross has now closed in order to focus resources on the development of the Quentin Blake Centre for Illustration. However, House of Illustration remains very much ‘open’ – its education programme is continuing online and through outreach programmes with London school and community organisations, whilst a series of touring exhibitions are travelling to venues across the UK.