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:
READ and DRAW come out in support of a One Day Plaza
Friends of Stryker Park is committed to transforming the north side of 97th St between Columbus and Amsterdam into a greener, safer public space. The Uni Project teamed up with NYC DOT to help create a One Day Plaza to help demonstrate and build support for this...
Students at Parsons School of Design help develop Uni DRAW program
Sam and I are always looking for more ways to encourage interaction between people at the Uni. So we partnered with students of Professor Rachel Urkowitz at Parsons to design us new, communal drawing activities. Here are photos of the students as they test and...
Uni Project brings DRAW to Social Innovation Week NYC
The Uni rounded out our public season with a deployment at Social Innovation Week NYC. Thanks to Nicky Frankel and the SIW team for inviting us to share our DRAW cart with visitors to the SIW storefront on Mott St. See you in 2016!
Uni READ and DRAW at MAS Summit for NYC 2015
The Uni spent the weekend with folks who share our love of public space and the public realm at The Municipal Art Society of New York's Summit for NYC 2015. Thanks to the great team at MAS for having us at the Times Center, and thanks to long-time Uni volunteer...
Come see DRAW NYC on display in a Lower East Side storefront
DRAW NYC is our new effort to let people gather in public and draw. Implemented on the same circuit as our open-air reading rooms, we're offering people access to high-quality art materials and opportunities to draw in public space across New York City. Burning...
Uni reading room at Diversity Plaza, Queens, Aug 1, 2015
Photos from deployment of the Uni reading room at Diversity Plaza, Queens on Aug 1, 2015 with our new DRAW NYC cart. Our host and partner was Friends of Diversity Plaza and Sukhi New York. Our participation was made possible by funds granted by the Charles H. Revson...
Founding Sponsors:
Fabiola Salmán
Betty Chen &
Peter Coombe
Laura & Robert
Fleder
Romy &
David Cohen
Karen & Dan
Taylor
Evgenia Peretz
