DRAW NYC, an open-air drawing studio
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DRAW NYC is an open-air drawing studio, offering access to fine art materials and a place to draw together in public. Designed for New Yorkers of all ages and always free, elements include:
- high-quality paper, pencils, charcoal, drawing boards, and other tools and materials for drawing;
- printed cards with activities conceived by artists and educators;
- art books;
- a custom-designed cart that stores, moves, and displays the collection (which can be closed and locked in place), and eight benches for seating;
- an adjacent “street gallery” displaying drawings made at previous locations, as well as large reproductions of artists’ work provided through a partnership with The Drawing Center;
- staff to set up and run the program (one program staff member and one manager);
- teaching artists or Artists-in-Residence at most deployments;
- an option for hosts, other organizations, or local businesses to participate by adding special activities (e.g. with still-life displays).
Here’s what happens: people approach, sit down, pick up materials, and begin drawing. Some follow artist prompts or are introduced to different techniques and materials (e.g. blending sticks and watercolor pencils) by our staff. Some draw for just a short time, others much longer. People feel good, even proud, while drawing in public, and no matter their skill level, people are transformed into artists. This program has served New Yorkers since 2015.
Help bring drawing to all NYC neighborhoods.
Other ways to get involved:
- Apply to be an Artist in Residence. Contact us.
- Artists, illustrators, educators: share a prompt and inspire New Yorkers to draw.
- Contact us to bring DRAW NYC to your community.
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.
2019 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.
Become a sponsor!
Blog posts about DRAW NYC:
DRAW on Woodside Ave in Queens
On Saturday, April 28, the Uni Project deployed our DRAW program to Songkran Weekend Walk in Elmhurst, Queens, hosted by the Thai Community USA NYC. Thanks to our partner NYC DOT, and to Blick for a third year of art materials! DRAW is made possible at...
Help us bring drawing to NYC street festivals!
Our 2018 season is getting underway, and you can help us add something special—drawing at street festivals. Here's the backstory: neighborhood groups have begun asking permission from NYC Department of Transportation to close local streets on weekends so...
Meet Luyi Wang, 2017 Artist in Residence at the Uni Project
We have an Artist-in-Residence program here at the Uni Project where we invite local artists to come on-site and inspire people participating in our DRAW program in parks, playgrounds, and other public spaces across NYC. This year we had the...
READ and DRAW at Park Ave and East 104th St
Today, we landed at “Party on Park”, a street festival hosted by our friends at New Harlem East Merchants Association (NHEMA). We offered a reading room and a taste of our DRAW program as well. Special thanks to Blick Art Materials for joining us on the street....
The Uni at the Central Park Zoo with The Drawing Center
Every Saturday in May, the Uni DRAW cart will transformed into a field station of the Department of Tropical Research at the Central Park Zoo, where visitors can draw from specimens and learn how ecologist William Beebe and his team of scientists worked with...
Uni READ, DRAW, SOLVE at Jennings Play Street in Bronx
This summer, we are once again deploying to play streets in Harlem and the Bronx. Today, I worked one of our favorites, run by Caldwell Programs in Morrisania. I hung out, and took some photos, let the kids take photos, and gathered feedback for our new...
Founding Sponsors:
Fabiola Salmán
Betty Chen &
Peter Coombe
Laura & Robert
Fleder
Romy &
David Cohen
Karen & Dan
Taylor
Evgenia Peretz
