DRAW NYC, an open-air drawing studio
- high-quality paper, pencils, charcoal, drawing boards, and tools for drawing
- prompts for drawing, conceived by artists and educators
- art books for inspiration
- benches for seating and a custom-designed cart that stores, moves, and displays the collection
- a “street gallery” displaying drawings made by other New Yorkers
staff who set up and run the program
The program can also include teaching artists and options for local organizations and businesses to add special activities (e.g. a still-life display from a local florist).
Here’s what happens: people of all ages approach, sit down, pick up materials, and begin drawing. Some follow artist prompts or are introduced to different materials like blending sticks and watercolor pencils by our staff. Some draw for a short time, others for much longer. People feel good to be drawing together and are transformed into artists, no matter their skill level, on a public stage.
This program has served New Yorkers since 2015.
Help bring drawing to all NYC neighborhoods.
From our Artists in Residence
“I felt like some moments could change something, maybe one moment could change someone’s life.”
— 2017 AIR Luyi Wang
“What I enjoyed most were the personal interactions I had..Being an AIR strengthened my desire to take a more active role as an artist in my community, and to engage with the public more as an artist and art educator.”
— 2015 AIR Susan Coyne
“Most of all, I appreciated the opportunity to connect with members of so many different communities in NYC through art, rather than producing work as an anonymous observer.”
— 2015 AIR Genevieve Irwin
Materials donated by
Blick Art Materials has generously donated high-quality art materials to DRAW NYC since 2015.
The Drawing Center has generously donated a number of its Drawing Papers and provided passes for free admission to its galleries in SoHo.
Supporters
DRAW NYC is supported, in part, by public funds from the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs in partnership with the City Council.
Updates about DRAW NYC
Creating a place to DRAW together in Times Square
Our DRAW program is in the middle of a month-long residency in Times Square. Join us every Wednesday 12-3pm and draw with fellow New Yorkers at an open-air art studio, featuring fine art materials donated by Blick Art Materials and an artist-in-residence. Made...
Highlights from DRAW and WRITE at Chelsea Market in 2019
Here are highlights from a three-month residency of DRAW and a month-long residency of WRITE at Chelsea Market. DRAW is a portable art studio that travels the city and lets New Yorkers draw together. WRITE is a new program that lets New Yorkers write, type, scrawl a...
Drawing together at Spring Street Park, a weekly pop-up.
Our DRAW program has begun a six week residency at Spring Street Park in Manhattan. Every Thursday through July 18, take a moment to join your fellow New Yorkers at an open-air art studio, featuring fine art materials and an artist-in-residence. All ages and aways...
Founding Sponsors
Fabiola Salmán
Betty Chen &
Peter Coombe
Laura & Robert
Fleder
Romy &
David Cohen
Karen & Dan
Taylor
Evgenia Peretz
