The Big Christmas Draw

This Christmas 2022, The Big Draw launches a new pilot project, The Big Christmas Draw!

Join us this festive season and take a moment with friends, families and loved ones to come together for some drawing and creativity. As part of the project, The Big Draw has placed 300 sketchbooks with drawing materials in food banks in Worcester and Pembrokeshire for families and individuals to use to create together.

Alongside this, The Big Christmas Draw invites you to join us online or in-person for 12 creative videos created by friends of The Big Draw, artists and illustrators, Gary Andrews, Lucia Vinti, Tom Curtis and Oly Bliss.

Over the festive season, make a collage robin with Lucia Vinti, draw an elf with Gary Andrews or create a beautiful winter wonderland with Oly Bliss. Each creative activity is released on The Big Draw YouTube account, one each day, offering something for everyone to explore and discover through the power of drawing.

“We are all facing so many challenges on many different levels at the moment, on top of the recent scars from the pandemic. ‘The Big Christmas Draw’ is about creating a step change, a moment to pause and breathe, bringing families and people together through simple creative activities and fun, taking us away from materialism and the monetary pressures of this time of year.

Something truly magical happens when you start being creative. You become absorbed in the activity, your breathing slows down and can help you find peace. It gives you a mental break from the day to day concerns, you start to feel more positive, project a more positive energy and positive things come back in return.

Everything humans created in this world started as a thought, an idea, which then went through the drawing process. The money in your pocket, your socks on your feet, a spaceship - all at some stage started as an idea and then a drawing. We at The Big Draw believe in the power of drawing, and this Christmas we invite you to see if we can use this power to make much needed big changes now.”

- Executive Director of The Big Draw, Jane Barnes

This project work is kindly supported by key partners and collaborators: Derwent Art, ArtGecko Sketchbooks, Creative Lives, The Trussell Trust Worcester and Pembrokeshire, The Hive (Worcester), Bellrock Catering (Worcester) and artists Tom Curtis, Gary Andrews, Oly Bliss and Lucia Vinti.

Meet the Artists on @TheBigDrawPresents

In-Person Workshops

Alongside the creative activities over on our YouTube, in-person creative sessions will be running in Worcester and Pembrokeshire, led by Creative Lives and The Big Draw.

Artists Oly Bliss and Creative Lives, Nicola Winstanly will be at The Hive, Worcester on Wednesday 21st December 2022, 10am - 12pm. Sweet treats l will be provided by Bell Rock Cafe at The Hive.
Artist Marion Cheung and Creative Lives, Director Gareth Coles will be in Narbeth, Pembrokeshire on Friday 23rd December 2022, 10am -12pm. A warm meal will be provided after the event by Pembrokeshire Food bank.

Share your creations with us!

Online or in-person, if you’re taking part in The Big Christmas Draw, we would love to see what you have created!

You can share their creations and drawings with The Big Draw over the festive break in three ways.

You can post your creations on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook with the hashtag #BigChristmasDraw.
Don’t have social media? No problem! You can share your drawings us directly using this online form
You can also email them to us directly at enquries@thebigdraw.org.

We can't wait to see your reindeers, robins and more!