The Big Draw 2009

Below is an extract from The Big Draw website to let you know a little bit about the campaign, and what exactly it is.

"The Campaign for Drawing was launched in 2000 by the Guild of St George, a small charity founded by John Ruskin, whose writings on art, architecture, natural history, social and economic issues helped to shape Victorian cultural life. In 1871, he set up the Guild to assist the liberal education of artisans. The Guild initiated the Campaign to celebrate Ruskin's centenary and to promote his belief that drawing is a key to understanding and knowledge. Now an independent charity, the Campaign raises the profile of drawing as a tool for thought, creativity, social and cultural engagement. It has developed two programmes to encourage the use of drawing by professionals and others.

The Campaign has created a new regard for the value of drawing to help people see, think, invent and take action. Its long-term ambition is to change the way drawing is perceived by educationalists and the public. This has won support from leading practitioners in the creative industries and in art, architecture and design colleges, signaling an overdue realisation that drawing is fundamental to the training of students in these disciplines. The Campaign takes a wider view. It sees drawing as a basic human skill useful in all walks of life. The Campaign's work will finish when the words 'I can't draw' are dropped from our vocabulary."

The Campaign for Drawing invites everyone to join in The Big Draw's 10th anniversary (1-31 October 2009), using drawing to engage with the past, present and future.

Big Draw Day is Saturday 10 October 2009, but events will take place throughout October in over 1200 venues, including galleries, museums, science centres, heritage and environmental sites, libraries, archives, community and shopping centres, colleges, schools and art clubs. There are activities for people of all ages and abilities offering explorations of: technical, scientific, architectural, archaeological or fine art drawing. Participants are invited to help expand the boundaries of drawing - experimenting with pencils, paint, charcoal, sand, clay, digital imagery, choreographed movement, vapour trails and fire drawings. Most activities are free. You will be able to search here for events in your area from July 2009, so please visit again or join our e-list for the latest Campaign news.

Big Draw organisers are invited to register here.

In the meantime, find out what happened in 2008 by visiting our Flickr Group where you can view images from our Launch, Drawing on Life, at the Wellcome Collection and University College London; Transports of Delight: The Big Draw at St Pancras, The Big Picture Party at the British Library and many other Big Draw events across the UK and abroad.

More to come...