The Big Draw, formerly the Campaign for Drawing, is a British registered charity that promotes drawing and visual literacy. It was founded in 2000 by the Guild of St George, and is now an independent charity. The Big Draw believes that drawing is a universal language that can unite people across generations, backgrounds and borders. It is inspired by the Victorian artist and writer,

John Ruskin John Ruskin (8 February 1819 20 January 1900) was an English writer, philosopher, art critic and polymath of the Victorian era. He wrote on subjects as varied as geology, architecture, myth, ornithology, literature, education, botany and pol ...

, whose mission was not to teach people how to draw, but how to see. An arts educational charity, the Campaign demonstrates that drawing is a life skill: an essential tool for learning, expression and invention. Its publications for teachers and other educators provide comprehensive evidence that drawing supports formal and informal learning.
The charity leads a programme of advocacy, empowerment and engagement, and is the driving force behind The Big Draw Festival – the world's biggest celebration of drawing. The charity supports established and emerging artists through The John Ruskin Prize and exhibition, and regular events, awards and competitions. The Big Draw manages collaborative research projects, campaigns and educational conferences on visual literacy, digital technology and STEAM (Science, Technology, Art, Maths, Science).

The Big Draw Festival

The Big Draw charity is the founder and driving force behind The Big Draw Festival, which takes place each year in over 20 countries around the world. Events often take place at notable venues throughout the UK including

The British Museum The British Museum is a public museum dedicated to human history, art and culture located in the Bloomsbury area of London. Its permanent collection of eight million works is among the largest and most comprehensive in existence. It docume ...

The National Gallery The National Gallery is an art museum in Trafalgar Square in the City of Westminster, in Central London, England. Founded in 1824, it houses a collection of over 2,300 paintings dating from the mid-13th century to 1900. The current Director of ...

and

Victoria and Albert Museum The Victoria and Albert Museum (often abbreviated as the V&A) in London is the world's largest museum of applied arts, decorative arts and design, housing a permanent collection of over 2.27 million objects. It was founded in 1852 and nam ...

as well as schools, community centres, parks and village halls. The 2013 Big Draw highlight event offered visitors 20 activities in the new Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park. Previous launches were held at the Natural History Museum, V&A (twice), Trafalgar Square, St Pancras International Station, Welcome Collection and the British Library.

Partnerships

The Big Draw receives no core funding. Previously, it has been sponsored by bodies as diverse as NESTA, Arts Council England (ACE),

Crayola Crayola LLC, formerly the Binney & Smith Company, is an American manufacturing company specializing in art supplies. It is known for its brand ''Crayola'' and best known for its crayons. The company is headquartered in Forks Township, Pennsylva ...

Daler-Rowney Daler-Rowney Ltd is an England, English list of art media, art materials manufacturer based in Bracknell. The company, a subsidiary of conglomerate F.I.L.A. (company), F.I.L.A. Group, manufactures and commercialises a wide range of artist product ...

Esmée Fairbairn Foundation The Esmée Fairbairn Foundation is a registered charity founded in England in 1961. It is one of the larger independent grant-making foundations based in the UK, funding organisations which aim to improve the quality of life for people and communit ...

Paul Hamlyn Foundation Paul Hamlyn Foundation is a registered charity, and a company limited by guarantee which has been established in its current form since 2004, succeeding an earlier incarnation that was founded in 1987, which itself formalised established philanthr ...

, Barbara Whatmore Charitable Trust,

Financial Times The ''Financial Times'' (''FT'') is a British daily newspaper printed in broadsheet and published digitally that focuses on business and economic current affairs. Based in London, England, the paper is owned by a Japanese holding company, Ni ...

Heritage Lottery Fund The National Lottery Heritage Fund, formerly the Heritage Lottery Fund (HLF), distributes a share of National Lottery funding, supporting a wide range of heritage projects across the United Kingdom. History The fund's predecessor bodies were ...

, National Lottery, Persil, Puffin, Royal Academy of Engineering,

Royal Institute of British Architects The Royal Institute of British Architects (RIBA) is a professional body for architects primarily in the United Kingdom, but also internationally, founded for the advancement of architecture under its royal charter granted in 1837, three supp ...

, Derwent and Cass Art.

Patrons

Quentin Blake Sir Quentin Saxby Blake, (born 16 December 1932) is an English cartoonist, caricaturist, illustrator and children's writer. He has illustrated over 300 books, including 18 written by Roald Dahl, which are among his most popular works. For his ...

CBE *Lord

Norman Foster Norman or Normans may refer to: Ethnic and cultural identity * The Normans, a people partly descended from Norse Vikings who settled in the territory of Normandy in France in the 10th and 11th centuries ** People or things connected with the Nor ...

David Hockney David Hockney (born 9 July 1937) is an English painter, draftsman, printmaker, stage designer, and photographer. As an important contributor to the pop art movement of the 1960s, he is considered one of the most influential British artists o ...

CH *

Andrew Marr Andrew William Stevenson Marr (born 31 July 1959) is a British journalist and broadcaster. Beginning his career as a political commentator, he subsequently edited '' The Independent'' newspaper from 1996 to 1998 and was political editor of BBC ...

*Sir Roger Penrose OM *

Gerald Scarfe Gerald Anthony Scarfe (born 1 June 1936) is an English cartoonist and illustrator. He has worked as editorial cartoonist for ''The Sunday Times'' and illustrator for ''The New Yorker''. His other work includes graphics for rock group Pink ...

* Posy Simmonds MBE *

Chris Riddell Chris Riddell ( ) (born 13 April 1962) is a South African-born British illustrator and occasional writer of children's books and a political cartoonist for the ''Observer''. He has won three Kate Greenaway Medals - the British librarians' ann ...

*Narinder Sagoo * Bob and Roberta Smith RA

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Campaign For Drawing Drawing Visual arts education British art awards Art and design organizations

The Big Draw Festival

Partnerships

Patrons

See also

References