Sharpen your pencils, the Big Draw is back! The Museum of Art Rhode Island School of Design hosts the second-annual Big Draw Providence, inviting visitors to join us in a broad range of free hands-on workshops, events, and activities on the Chace Plaza at 20 North Street and throughout the Museum on Saturday, April 30, from 11 am to 4 pm.
Drawing is often perceived as the exclusive province of artists and designers, but it can also be an important and exciting tool to help us all see, think, invent, and learn. As the Museum’s Director of Education Sarah Ganz Blythe points out, “We make marks all the time, every time we write.” The Big Draw celebrates this shared practice and uses drawing as a point of collaboration and inspiration.
The Big Draw is an annual international celebration of drawing inspired by the wildly popular United Kingdom program of the same name. “Our goal while planning the Big Draw here in Providence was to find ways to celebrate this shared practice and use drawing as a point of collaboration and exchange,” says Ganz Blythe. To see the program in action at last year’s Big Draw Providence, view the Museum’s new video.
The free community activities on April 30 include artmaking, artist demonstrations, gallery tours, film shorts and a Drawing Exchange. Refreshments and treats are offered at modest prices by Rosie’s food truck on the Chace Plaza. RISD’s Spring Alumni Art Sale on Benefit Street offers more fun for all ages!
SCHEDULE OF EVENTS
10 am-4 pm
- Start your world class drawing collection at the Drawing Exchange booth
- Draw your way through the Museum using unique materials and adventurous techniques. (This will include drawing with wire, making mono-prints, resist drawing, and more!)
- Visit an art installation made by local artists that needs your participation
- Visit the RISD Nature Lab and draw your favorite taxidermy animal or bug in a jar
- Make your mark in the Museum’s community sketch books
11 am, 2 pm, 3:30 pm
- Take gallery tour that looks at drawing across time and cultures
11:30 am-12:30 pm, 1-2 pm, 3-4 pm
- See artists demonstrate materials and techniques
1-3 pm
- Enjoy figure drawing in the galleries
3-4 pm
- Watch film shorts that show the power of drawing
For more information on this and other events and programs throughout the year, visit the RISD Museum’s online events calendar.
Photos: Courtesy of Museum of Art Rhode Island School of Design
