The Big Draw Festival 2018: Play is well underway around the globe and as Festival organisers fling open their doors to Kids and Big Kids alike, we chat to the Big Draw Co-creators who are joining us in encouraging playfulness and creativity through their Big Draw Festival events.
We are thrilled to be catching up with Sherri Williams, the National Gallery’s Manager of Community Programs, to talk drawing, visual literacy, and the role of Play in the Gallery's programmes...
The National Gallery of Art in Washington DC is an educative institution, dedicated to fostering an understanding of works of art. I understand that Andrew W. Mellon, who helped to establish the Gallery in 1937, believed that visitors should learn from as well as enjoy art. This was primarily enforced through works being exhibited by period and national origin. Subsequently, a Center for Advanced Study in the Visual Arts was established as part of the opening of the East Building in 1978, and year-round educational programmes for visitors are now part of the National Gallery’s central mission. Can you tell us a little more about the role that education plays in the National Gallery of Art, and why you think it is so important to encourage the understanding and appreciation of art?
Educational programs are extremely important at the National Gallery of Art. They run the gamut from lectures, gallery talks, and tours to films, large-scale community events, and access programs. They’re designed to enrich the visitor experience while encouraging deeper engagement with original works of art. Programs extend our collection and exhibitions, not only helping visitors interpret what’s on the walls but making those works of art relevant today.
By encouraging an understanding and appreciation of art we’re also encouraging critical thinking, building empathy, and teaching visual literacy skills that can then be applied to all other aspects of life.
The Gallery’s educational and enrichment programmes are designed to reach enthusiastic groups of visitors through a multitude of activities, films, tours and volunteer opportunities, all with the intention of educating in creative and engaging ways. This year’s theme for The Big Draw Festival is ‘Play’; do you think that a playful approach is key to the National Gallery’s programmes?
We were thrilled to learn the theme for this year’s Big Draw Festival. The Gallery actually used play theory to design a large scale community program earlier this year so the concept really resonated with us. While the importance of play for children is well documented, we believe that it can have a positive affect on adults as well. By building an element of play into the Gallery’s programs, we’re deconstructing long-held notions that cast art museums as austere, impenetrable institutions built for the enjoyment of a select few. We’re helping visitors of all ages and background find their place in the museum instead of dictating what their place should be.
The National Gallery’s collection comprises primarily European and American art from the Renaissance to the present day. However, the Gallery’s loan exhibitions enable the museum to display art from a wider range of cultures and time periods, including Sculpture of Angkor and Ancient Cambodia (1997), and Edo: Art in Japan (1998–1999). Why do you think that art is such a useful tool in engaging and educating people on history and culture?
Art has no language barrier. It can render complex ideas in a visual language understandable by large swaths of people. It also encourages an understanding of other people, cultures, and places and makes the inaccessible accessible by depicting locations that are miles and miles away or people who existed centuries before. It helps us understand where we come from, who we are, and our place within a larger world.
One of the main components of our work here at The Big Draw is promoting the influence of visual literacy. We believe that it is crucial to a multitude of industries and disciplines, not just within the visual arts sector. Can you share your views on the benefits of a visual eye in one’s everyday life? Are there any experiences in your own life and career that you can point to to support this?
Visual literacy helps us navigate in a world that is saturated with images and constantly evolving technologies. A person who is visually competent is able to communicate with others, interpret objects and symbols in their everyday life, and organize information in a logical and understandable way.
As a museum professional, I’m surrounded by images and a large part of my job is helping others read works of art. Earlier, I mentioned how art doesn’t have a language barrier and can render complex ideas in ways that are much easier to understand for diverse groups of people. That’s really important for the National Gallery of Art in Washington DC because so much of our audience is international.
There is such a close relationship between viewing and drawing – we firmly believe in ‘drawing to learn, not learning to draw’. I feel that the title of your Big Draw event this year is quite pertinent: ‘Sketching is Seeing’. I imagine that visitors are often inspired by the National Gallery’s extensive collections to take pencil to paper! Do you believe that drawing is an essential tool for better understanding art, and the world around us?
Absolutely. One of the great benefits of sketching is the way the practice helps improve observational skills. Visitors slow down and connect with works of art in ways that they might not without the invitation to sketch. They spend more time engaged with works of art, are more likely to notice the finer details, and are better able to retain what they’ve seen. This makes for a more fulfilling and enjoyable museum experience.
The National Gallery of Art’s ‘Sketching is Seeing’ Big Draw event this year is taking place on Saturday the 27th and Sunday the 28th and includes in-gallery sessions with artists, live models, music and more! Could you tell a little more about what people can expect from your Big Draw event, and why they should get involved?
Sketching is Seeing: The Big Draw Festival takes place Saturday, October 27 and Sunday, October 28. As you noted, we have lots of fun sketching activities planned. Each day will start with a sound bath and mindful sketching in the Gallery’s West Building. The sound bath is an immersive experience that combines ambient sounds with mindfulness techniques. Once over, visitors should feel calm, relaxed, and ready to sketch. We also have figure drawing with live models, a sketching lab where visitors are encouraged to experiment, children’s films, pop up sketching in our galleries, and sketching to music, which features a quartet of musicians playing a genre-bending selection of music that ranges from classical to the blues.
Thank you to Sherri Williams, and the team at The National Gallery of Art Washington DC!
Interested in taking part in their fantastic #Play2018 Big Draw Festival events on the 27th and 28th of October? We're not surprised! A link to their full programme can be found here.
Interested in visiting a Big Draw Festival event near you this Autumn? Take a look at our Big Draw 2018 events map here, sign up to our localised event alerts here or perhaps you’d like to join our merry band of Big Draw Festival co-creators and organise your very our events?
Visit our Organise an Event page for guidance on getting started.