NHS Lothian Charity welcomes Sir Quentin Blake Exhibition to its Tonic Gallery

Celebrating all children and their abilities!

In partnership with Kindred, NHS Lothian Charity’s Tonic Arts programme proudly presents the opening of its child-centred exhibition featuring Sir Quentin Blake’s captivating artwork from the book “The Five of Us”, at the Royal Hospital for Children and Young People. This incredible exhibition aims to highlight and celebrate the unique talents of all children, including those with visible and hidden disabilities.

Kindred

Kindred supports families of children with complex needs and disabilities. They provide information, advocacy and emotional support. It was set up at the Royal Hospital for Children and Young People, Edinburgh (RHCYP) in 1990 by parents of children in hospital. They now have teams in Edinburgh and Fife, a counselling service, and parenting programmes. Last year, they supported 832 families across Scotland, including 291 families of children who were inpatient at RHCYP. 

Quentin Blake

Quentin was born in 1932 and lives in London. He read English at Downing College, Cambridge, obtained a PCGE at the London Institute of Education, and attended life classes at Chelsea School of Art, going on to teach illustration for over twenty years at the Royal College of Art. His first illustrated book, A Drink of Water by John Yeoman, appeared in 1960, and since then he has worked on over 500 more, collaborating with many other writers including Michael Rosen, David Walliams and Roald Dahl. He is also known for his own picture books such as Mister Magnolia and Zagazoo, and his illustrations for the Folio Society for classic works, among them Don Quixote, Candide and Animal Farm. 

In the past twenty years he has also worked on many projects for museums, hospitals, and other public spaces both in England and in France. In 1999 he was appointed first Children’s Laureate. He was knighted in 2013 for ‘services to illustration’, and created a Companion of Honour in 2022. He is also a Chevalier of the Légion d’Honneur in France, an honour given to very few people who are not French nationals. 

Quentin’s work often demonstrates inclusive illustration and storytelling. In this exhibition of his story, ‘The Five of Us’, Kindred and Tonic Arts invite you to join us in celebrating children of all abilities.

Thanks

Thanks go to Sir Quentin Blake and his team for their permission and assistance with holding this exhibition. Special thanks to Sir Quentin for his generous gift of three signed prints from his original artworks for The Five of Us, exhibited here and to remain on show in the hospital beyond the run of this exhibition. 

Thanks also go to:

Tate Publishing for their permission to feature ‘The Five of Us’ by Quentin Blake in this exhibition and associated storytelling film. To purchase your own copy of ‘The Five of Us’ by Quentin Blake scan here. 

All the storytellers, including the clinical and non-clinical staff, Kindred families, and our Charity Partners at the Royal Hospital for Children and Young People, Edinburgh, for their collaboration in the making of the accompanying film by Christopher Lewis Cook. 

Bouygues E&S Solutions Limited for their donation of copies of ‘The Five of Us’ to the RHCYP. 

Find out more

For any enquiries about the exhibition or Tonic Galleries contact: [email protected]

To find out more about Sir Quentin Blake visit his official website: www.quentinblake.com

To find out more about Kindred visit: www.kindred-scotland.org