This year, The Big Draw Festival is hitting Toronto's History Museums! The programme lineup of free activities are taking place on Saturday, September 28 and Sunday, September 29 - and we couldn't be more excited. Events include Botanical Artistry Workshops, Shadow Story Boxes, Mural Making and more! The Big Draw Festival in Toronto will also align with the Culture Days weekend, a national celebration of arts and culture that supports free public events across Canada every year.

We are thrilled to see The Big Draw Festival hitting Toronto’s Museums this September! What motivated you to get involved? Moreover, what do you hope the Festival will bring to the city?

The Big Draw Festival was a great opportunity for us to create a sense of welcome and community for all Torontonians to visit our ten sites to make their mark on September 28 and 29th during Culture days. 

I am hoping that the festival will bring joy and a sense of wellbeing, community and connectedness to the participants.  The Festival is an opportunity to connect with our friends, family and neighbours, and a free weekend of activities inspired by the museums, collections and surrounding landscapes.  

We love that The Big Draw Festival in Toronto will align with the ‘Culture Days’ weekend, a national celebration of arts and culture that supports free public events across Canada every year. Whilst it’s impossible to generalise over a part of the world as big as Canada, would you say there is a growing appreciation of the arts in Toronto and the wider community?

Toronto has a deep and continuing love of the arts. We have world class museums, art galleries, and heritage sites, and a fantastic creative scene which means that there is always something great happening in Toronto. Our ten museums are across the city so this also means opportunities to engage and be part of the energy in and outside of the downtown core. 

We believe drawing can be life changing; it's an amazing tool for communication, invention and expression. What role does drawing play in your everyday life and work outside of The Big Draw Festival?

In my everyday life, drawing allows me to transfer thoughts to paper. I can chart a trajectory, problem solve and dream through drawing. 

Why do you think that Museums are the perfect setting for drawing? 

Collections, exhibitions and displays in museums offer perfect inspiration for drawing. They celebrate a wonderful cultural heritage of ideas and artifacts and enable us to experience these personally and consider museums in deepening our well-being.

What is the significance of art in educating and engaging people on history and culture?

The significance of art in educating and engaging people on history and culture in the most simplistic explanation is that it allows a window into the human experience which connects us to a period in time that we can learn from. There are so many universal conditions about our humanity yet we do not all have the same journey and therein lies the opportunity that is realized through the sharing on an art practice. 

This year’s Festival theme is ‘Drawn to Life’, focussing on the health benefits and healing powers of a more creative life. How do you think this theme resonates with the Toronto History Museums? 

The theme Drawn to life resonates with our ten museums as we had identified wellness and wellbeing as a focus for our programming going into 2019.  When I discovered the Big Draw festival, it seemed so clear that having this festival come to our ten sites across Toronto would be an excellent way to embody the intention to embrace community. 

You will be hosting Big Draw events in all 10 of the Toronto History Museums, encouraging people of all ages to make a mark on their city and participate in a collaborative art project! Can you tell us a little more about what people can expect from your Big Draw events, and why they should get involved?

During the Big Draw weekend, visitors to our sites can expect tours, hands-on workshops from local artists and an array of opportunities to either bring their own supplies or use ours to participate in mural marking and arts activities. 

What are some of the benefits you see of taking part in The Big Draw Festival?

The weekend will be an opportunity to explore all 10 Toronto History Museums' interiors, courtyards and gardens to learn more about Toronto's many stories. People will fall in love with our sites and come back regularly for our more than 200 programs across our sites.

Thank you Cheryl and the team at Toronto History Museums!

Toronto History Museums is one of our Big Draw Festival 2019 Sponsor Partners.

Toronto History Museums are a group of 10 museums owned and operated by the City of Toronto that bring Toronto's history to life for residents and visitors. They include Colborne Lodge, Fort York National Historic Site, Gibson House Museum, Mackenzie House, Market Gallery, Montgomery's Inn, Scarborough Museum, Spadina Museum, Todmorden Mills and Zion Schoolhouse. More information about the museums is available athttp://www.toronto.ca/TheBigDraw.

Have you been inspired by Cheryl's interview and The Big Draw Festival 2019 theme: #DrawntoLife? Why not join our global Festival in 2019? Registration is now open! Find out more about the benefits of becoming an organiser here and other ways to support The Big Draw's mission here.