Drop-in drawing takes off

Drop-in drawing sessions are brand new for us here at the Gallery and even after only two sessions, it’s exciting to see people getting involved and hungry for more! The hour-long drop-ins are focused on a work in the gallery spaces with a prompt to get you started and encourage looking. No booking is required and all materials are provided.

The purpose behind these sessions is to explore, interpret, create and participate, using the artworks as a catalyst to experiment in a fun, informal atmosphere, with enjoyment at the forefront. These are not technical artist-run sessions (absolutely no drawing ‘skill’ is required) – they are not about learning to draw, but about drawing to learn. 

So far, participants have been challenged with a memory game using Tony Cragg’s Glass Stack – they observed a part of this artwork for 30 seconds then turned around to draw it from memory. We have also used Andreas Gursky’s Ocean III as inspiration, not to draw what is in front of us, but to draw what is reflected in the image. The results have been inspired, and varied.

We have had visitors of all ages, from fourteen years and up. Those keen to participate have included overseas visitors, young students and office workers, and the feedback has been overwhelmingly positive. They have enjoyed taking time to look at one image (for up to an hour), see things in a new way, and to try something new. And as one visitor commented, this is a way ‘to not just look but to see’.

We can’t wait to see what people create next week. Keep in touch via our Facebook page and our website for details of future drop-in drawing sessions.

- Selina Anderson, Senior Gallery Educator