As part of the worldwide 2021 Big Draw Festival, pupils at Queen Mary’s School, between Ripon and Thirsk, have brought drawing to life with their ‘Make the Change’ Big Draw event.
With themes including Respecting Nature, The World We Want and Reusing Resources, pupils from ages 7 – 16 came to the beautiful double-height Art Studio to get creative. Pupils used many types of media from Fabriano, natural forms and acrylic screens to Posca pens, cardboard and recycled paper.
The Big Draw Festival is a worldwide celebration of drawing promoting the universal language of drawing as a tool for learning, expression, and invention. The Festival is made up of a collection of thousands of creative events, activities, and workshops across the globe run by organisations big and small; from individuals to entire cities.
Pupils at Queen Mary’s School were excited to be involved. Art Captain, Hettie, age 15, thoroughly enjoyed helping to lead the event:
I love drawing and the emotional response I have when I see drawings in a gallery, so it was wonderful to encourage the whole school to create their own masterpieces. It was also a great leadership opportunity as all the Art Scholars were able to mentor younger pupils.
Dr Emma Radley, Queen Mary’s Head of Art, and Mrs Carole Cameron, Head of Queen Mary’s School, were delighted with the event:
With excellent GCSE Art results each year, scholarships for budding artists and many opportunities to exhibit work, Queen Mary’s has an extremely strong Art Department. What makes it even more special are the events and opportunities for inclusivity from the Annual Art Exhibition to the Big Draw where everyone joins in to create and embrace artistic challenge.
We may have been producing art to ‘Make the Change’ for the Big Draw but we also promote drawing as an activity to relieve stress and improve mental health.
Queen Mary’s School welcomes Art for Youth North this Half Term. This is a unique, one-off opportunity to view and buy contemporary and affordable art from over 70 new and established artists and Queen Mary’s Art Scholars will be exhibiting their work on the emerging artists wall.
