This summer the Lowry is celebrating a beloved illustrator and writer with their newest exhibition, Quentin Blake and Me.
The new family-friendly exhibition opened on Saturday 19 July, and will remain open to the public until Sunday 4 January 2026.
The new free experience has been opened to the public to celebrate the work of one of Britain’s most popular writers and illustrators, Quentin Blake.
It will welcome families of Salford into his ‘studio’ and features a wide range of Blake’s instantly recognisable work.
Throughout the exhibition, residents will recognise illustrations from the stories of Roald Dahl, Charles Dickens, David Walliams, Russel Hoban and many more.
Guests will also be able to experience fun interactives, games to play, and opportunities for visitors to write and draw their own stories, all whilst being immersed in Blake’s magical world.
The installation was also unveiled as a part of the Salford theatre’s 25th anniversary, encapsulating what Lowry is all about – creativity, opportunity and making the arts accessible to all.
Michael Simpson, Director of Visual Arts at Lowry, said: “It’s our 25th birthday year, so we wanted to work with somebody really special.
“We thought for this summer let’s work with Quentin Blake, who as far as illustrators are concerned is the greatest of all time.
“Quentin has been absolutely fantastic; he has signed off everything in the show and he’s been incredibly supportive throughout the whole thing.”
Mr Simpson added: “He has visualised some of the characters that a lot of kids are growing up with; from Matilda to Mr Stink to the BFG.
“For every single book we have original artworks that were drawn for that book, there are one hundred original artworks across the exhibition.”
Michael Simpson continued: “You could get here at 10am and hopefully not leave till 5pm and not have spent a penny, and in this current situation we want to do all we can to support families.
“Every single young visitor who comes into the exhibition gets a free notebook, as it’s really important to us that we encourage young people to write and draw their own stories as well.”
Following the unveiling of the new exhibition at the Lowry this weekend, Quentin Blake said: “It’s wonderful to be given such a generous and imaginative exhibition in such a special site.
“It was an extra pleasure to be invited to make drawings of Lowry himself.”
He continued: “It’s also very good that visitors to the show are invited to draw and I look forward to seeing some of the results.”
Quentin Blake and Me opened at the weekend (Saturday 19 July) and is now set to be open until (Sunday 4 January) – residents will be able to visit for free but are encouraged to book in pre-arranged time slots.
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