Half A Million Sharpen Their Pencils: The Big Draw 2007 Is Announced
- UK's Nationwide Celebration of Drawing, Half a Million Take Part -
- World Record Attempt - Quentin Blake - Rocket Science - Lord Foster - Manga - Gerald Scarfe - Designing for Sustainability - Steve Bell -

17 July 2007: The Big Draw 2007, a nationwide celebration of drawing, at over 1,300 events - ranging from rocket science and evolutionary biology through to Manga art and the world's largest collage - will take place across the country throughout October. Over 500,000 people are expected to take part. Most events are FREE.

All The Big Draw events are regionally listed at www.thebigdraw.org

The Big Draw 2007 will be launched on 30 September at The Big Draw East, a huge jamboree of events across East London at which thousands of children and adults will use drawing to explore subjects as diverse as sustainable design, body culture and evolution. Sixty-seven organisations are involved including museums, universities, studios and schools.

The Big Draw enables adults and children to discover the joy of drawing and explore different ways of seeing the world. Supporters such as Lord Foster, Terence Conran, James Dyson, Quentin Blake, Posy Simmonds and Gerald Scarfe demonstrate the power of drawing as a tool for creative thinking, invention and communication.

The Big Draw is run by the Campaign for Drawing. Its mission is to remove the phrase 'I can't draw' from everyday usage and to prove that drawing is a key to understanding and knowledge. The Big Draw, launched in 2000, has encouraged over a million people back to drawing, shown that drawing can be a social activity, and notched up two Guinness World records - for the longest drawing in the world (one kilometre) and the greatest number of people drawing simultaneously (over 7000).

Shape the future: designing for sustainability
The Big Draw 2007 is partnered by the Royal Academy of Engineering for the first time. The Academy is supporting 24 Big Draw events across the UK on the theme: Shape The Future - Designing for Sustainability. Details of these events will be announced shortly and also listed on www.thebigdraw.org

The Big Draw Launch - Exploring evolution and sustainable design
The Big Draw 2007 will be launched by thousands of children and adults at a huge drawing event, The Big Draw East, at venues across Tower Hamlets and Hackney, London, on 30 September. Thirty four arts organisations, four museums, three universities and two studio complexes will help participants (including 20 schools) explore themes such as designing for sustainability, changing cities and body science/body culture.

As part of the launch, scientists and artists at Queen Mary, University of London, funded by a Wellcome Trust Arts Award, will work with the public to find ways of communicating new research into evolution. Visitors will be able to experience interactive installations and drawing games that explore the similarities and differences between animals and humans at early stages of development.

Regional Events - World Records, Rockets, Manga and Castles…
The Big Draw events take place across the country. Venues range from royal palaces, museums, galleries and castles to parks, schools, hospitals and village halls. Collectively they demonstrate that drawing is a universal language connecting people of all ages, abilities and cultures. Full details of the 1,300 Big Draw events can be found at www.thebigdraw.org. A cross section of events include:

• World record attempt, Tate Modern, London: As part of the Scouts' centenary project - the Great Big Left Handshake - a world record for the largest number of contributors to a single artwork is being attempted.
  
  
• Needles New Battery, Isle of Wight: Design a rocket! The Needles New Battery was the UK's test firing site for space rockets during the Cold War.
  
  
• Ludlow Assembly Rooms, Ludlow: Work with a local artist to design and make a giant snail sculpture to be displayed in the Assembly Room's glass fronted foyer.
  
  
• Wardown Park Museum, Luton: Manga Art Warp: Exploring cartoons from other cultures and create your own pop art.
  
  
• Bank of England Museum, London: Become a millionaire when you design your own banknotes.
  
  
• Palace of Holyroodhouse, Edinburgh: Design a palace of your dreams and capture many of Holyroodhouse's famous objects and artefacts.
  
  
• Cardiff Castle, Cardiff: A series of events ranging from designing castles, to drawing Gargoyles and Grotesques.
  
  
• Fleet Air Arm Museum, Yeovilton: Designing sustainable aeroplanes, airfields and environmentally friendly aircraft carriers of the future.

The Big Draw Goes Global
The Campaign for Drawing's creation has won international recognition. Big Draw events are planned for New York, Washington, Boston, Vancouver, Australia, New Zealand, Dubai, Nigeria and Portugal.

Lord Foster, Founder, Foster+Partners and Campaign for Drawing Patron, said: "Drawing is the root of every concept and design. It is a fundamental life skill. The Big Draw inspires people of all ages to engage with the world we inhabit and I hope that more people will rediscover the immediacy of the medium they relished as children."

Sue Grayson Ford, Director, Campaign for Drawing said: "The Big Draw's popularity shows that not only is there massive public interest in the subject, but that drawing can create a hugely enjoyable social occasion for people all ages and abilities.

"The Big Draw offers a chance to lose yourself in the sheer fascination of drawing and learn how it can benefit your life, no matter what you do! This year there are also amazing themes to explore - from understanding evolution to shaping the future."

Quentin Blake CBE, The Big Draw Supporter said: "The Big Draw has allowed people to draw in the same way that they gather together to sing. It has brought thousands of people into our galleries and museums. Many of these might not otherwise have come; and almost more importantly, The Big Draw has, noticeably, altered the relationship of these visitors with the institutions. They arrive with a purpose, their interest has a focus. This is a triumph of the best kind of accessibility; establishing the importance of drawing not only as a mode of self-expression but a tool in learning and in science and design."

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About The Big Draw
The Big Draw is the UK's biggest annual free celebration of visual art with 1,300 events and over 500,000 participants. Last year's national Big Draw launch reached full capacity with 7000 participants celebrating the Amazing Spaces of Somerset House and King's College London, with a packed programme of activities - from making watercolours of the fountains to knitting a giant London Townhouse. Since it began in 2000, The Big Draw has encouraged over a million people back to the drawing board and notched up two Guinness World records - for the longest drawing in the world (one kilometre) and the greatest number of people drawing simultaneously (over 7000).

About the Campaign For Drawing
The Campaign for Drawing has a simple aim: to get everyone drawing. The Big Draw, the Campaign's annual October showpiece, proves that drawing can be a public activity as well as a private passion. The Campaign was inspired by the great Victorian writer and visionary, John Ruskin. His mission was not to teach people to draw, but how to see. Each Big Draw season brings fresh opportunities to discover how drawing can connect us to our environment and heritage.

The Campaign's education programme turns its research findings into practical guidance in a series of books, DVDs and other resources. These show how learning through drawing can take place in schools, museums, galleries and heritage sites. In October it launches a Professional Development Programme designed to change attitudes to drawing and the way it is used. This will share the knowledge gained over the last six years with teachers and other educators, artists, designers, scientists, technologists and more. The Campaign for Drawing is supported by Arts Council England, the Esmée Fairbairn Foundation, the Worshipful Company of Painter-Stainers and Foster+Partners.

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