Commenting on The Big Draw's collaboration with the Today at Apple programme, Director of The Big Draw, Kate Mason said:
“The Big Draw was delighted once again to collaborate with Today at Apple and build on the success of last year’s programme. For the Big Draw team and board – partnering-up with Today at Apple assists in further enriching the global Big Draw Festival, helping us to showcase exciting cutting-edge creative talent from around the world – something which is very close to our heart.”
Throughout October 2018, the #TodayatApple programme celebrated The Big Draw Festival with over 100 free, hands-on sessions at 7 different Apple Store locations around the world — from London to New York, Chicago, San Francisco, Dubai, Milan and Singapore. From casual doodlers to established pros, people of all ages and all abilities were invited to take part and bring their sketches to life using iPad Pro and Apple Pencil.
These sessions were a chance for kids and big kids alike to experiment with new apps and explore all aspects of digital drawing. With fun Kids Hour sessions, Sketch Walks and live music - as well as Live Art sessions on everything from painting and sketching to product design and architecture - there was a huge variety of fantastic events for everyone to get involved in.
Some sessions raised important topics such as Diversity, Body Positivity and Mental Health. In Live Art: Drawing Therapy with Liz Atkin, at Apple Regent Street London, Liz Atkin spoke about the therapeutic impact that drawing had on her own mental health, covering topics of anxiety and skin picking. The feedback was incredibly positive, with visitors describing the session as "inspirational and personally very moving".
If you were lucky enough to get a space in time for the weekly Live Art: Royal Academy of Arts sessions in London, or witnessed just how quickly they booked up, you will know how popular these sessions were! Participants would meet at Apple Regent Street, and then walk over to the Royal Academy of Arts, where they took part in Life Drawing and 'Drawing on History' within the Buildings private vaults. It is unsurprising that these sessions were so sought after!
In Chicago, multiple sessions were ran by the architectural, urban planning, and engineering firm SOM (Skidmore, Owings & Merrill). These sessions, each run by architects and designers from SOM, involved 'Sketch Walks' in which participants could visualise and redesign whole aspects of the City, such as Millenium Park and the Riverwalk, whilst on the move!
The Big Draw was delighted to collaborate with the Today at Apple programme throughout The Big Draw Festival. We were thrilled with the overall success of the Today at Apple programme; the programme garnered a wealth of support on social media, with over 15,000 twitter impressions in London alone! The sessions explored a variety of relevant and important topics and displayed an extraordinary range of talent and abilities worldwide.
The Big Draw continually seeks to promote the universal language of drawing as a tool for learning, expression and invention, and it was felt that through its diverse and eclectic mix of creative, educational sessions the Today at Apple programme helped to spread this ethos far and wide.
Read press release.