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Drawing Power – a final invitation to join the Campaign in 2001 Can drawing provide a fresh approach to collections and exhibitions in museums, science centres and galleries? We think so and would like to hear about your own experiences and most of all urge you to join us this year with a Big Draw event. Please read on……… As you may know, The Campaign for Drawing is entering its second year and seeks new partners to help create a UK-wide focus on drawing for its annual Big Draw on Saturday 20 October. Last year, 300 organisations – from the National Gallery, all four Tates and the Science Museum to National Trust properties, industrial and rural museums, heritage sites, hospitals, schools, artists’ spaces and even Liverpool Prison and the House of Lords – offered drop-in drawing activities or exhibitions. This year we hope to increase to 600 events. However, it is more than a question of numbers and we look to you to lead by example and, perhaps, to find new ways of emphasising the value of drawing in museum and gallery education. Again this year we are offering Drawing Inspiration Awards to the organisers of Big Draw events who also provide valuable documentation and evaluation of their projects. This year four prizes of £500 (and six generous packs of drawing materials for runners-up) will go to those who find the most imaginative ways of engaging audiences in creative activity or stimulating inquiry. These events will be celebrated in an illustrated report to be widely disseminated next January. Please help to make the next Big Draw an even greater success and register your commitment to participate on our website: www.drawingpower.org.uk as soon as possible. Events can run for a few hours, a few days or weeks, be free or ticketed. Venues which prefer to avoid half term because they want to work with schools – or for other reasons – may choose their own dates. All we ask is that you acknowledge the Campaign and the Big Draw by using our logos, which can be emailed or downloaded by ‘right clicking’ on them on the website. Family Learning Weekend (12-14 October) and Apple Day (21 October) offer complementary themes. Thanks to new sources of funding (particularly NESTA), we are planning a more sustained publicity campaign and confidently predict greater national media awareness in October 2001. But creating regional interest is of course more easily achieved by individual institutions – perhaps by forming a consortium. Smaller venues will be able to benefit from our PR blueprint, which will help promote their involvement to local media. Being part of a national campaign often ensures more attention from regional TV, radio and press. The other good news is that we have just appointed Eileen Adams, a very experienced educator, to lead our education programme, Power Drawing. She will be able to offer guidance on longer-term projects using drawing in formal and informal education. You can contact Eileen at [log in to unmask] We would welcome news of other drawing activities which we can link to our website. Active participation and collaboration are essential to the continuing growth of the Campaign; we are counting on yours and look forward to hearing from you. Sue Grayson Ford Director, Campaign for Drawing 7 Gentleman's Row Enfield EN2 6PT Tel and Fax: 020 8351 1719 return email to: [log in to unmask]