On the bright side…
At the end of a tough year I wanted to reflect on some of the wonderful creative things to come out of it, in this round-up of Sketch Appeal highs!
Omicron wasn't the best way to kick things off, but if there's one thing we've proved by now it's that our creativity can get us through challenging times! Since January, we've continued to activate the social and uplifting powers of sketching through our online Sketchy Bitches (portrait) sessions, weekly Happy Hours and Self-Love workshops, as well as get back to delivering events and projects on the ground in London.
We drew in solidarity to raise money for the Ukraine. We explored new themes - including Shakespeare, Chanel and Chinese New Year - and revisited some of our favourites, like Wes Anderson and Roald Dahl. We experimented with styles and techniques, and had the joy of collaborating with other Creative Facilitators and Artists - IN REAL LIFE! We curated our first exhibition and drawing festival made possible thanks to our first grant from Arts Council England.
The Colour Walkers arriving at SKETCHFEST. Celebrating our 4th anniversary with an outdoor sketching party at Spitalfields, with Sue Kreitzman et al. Our first IG Live for the National Portrait Gallery! Hosting that momentous workshop with Curtis Holder, when we talked and talked but no-one minded because "he should do a podcast"! Pat and Sheila coming to town from NYC and Ireland respectively. Doing a workshop for over 100 teachers and over 80 students at a time, with the support of the amazing Miss Carney! Seeing people’s confidence and style grow from strength to strength. All the fun with Llinos, Janna, Emma and the gang on Zoom… I could go on and on..!
Collectively we've created thousands of unique and memorable artworks over the course of this year. What I'll remember more though, are the chats, the laughs and how it felt to lead and be part of the Sketch Appeal community. Connected. Joyful. Empowered. Understood.
I hope you too have enjoyed your interactions with Sketch Appeal this year!
Celebrating the social power of art & the legacy of lockdown
Funded by Arts Council England, SKETCHFEST was a glorious 10-day celebration of community, colour and creativity in the face of COVID – showcasing the power of portraiture and the joy of sketch!
Set across two fabulous floors at a pop-up space in Shoreditch, SKETCHFEST celebrated some of the awesome art created by the Sketch Appeal community throughout the pandemic.Upstairs, we curated a joyous ‘sketchybition’ of portraits - a diverse and uplifting display of talent, character and colour! Downstairs, in the drawing den, we hosted a series of creative workshops with guest Artists - all of whom share our passion for creating connections, democratizing drawing, and having fun!
6 sold out workshops with 5 guest Artists
54% of workshop participants were new to Sketch Appeal
Over 450 visitors across 10 days
28 Artists featured in the exhibition, aged 8 to 82
100% of respondents to our participant survey said the experience made them feel more connected to a creative community and more motivated to draw more in everyday life. Result!
Thanks to ACE for funding SKETCHFEST!
Promoting art for all
and art for life
Throughout this year we worked with St Augustine’s CE High School in Kilburn to deliver a series of pilot projects designed to connect and uplift the whole school community, and to highlight the mental health benefits of getting creative in everyday life. Suffice to say it was an eye-opening experience - for them and us! It was a real joy to get closer to the needs, concerns, interests and creative talents of both staff and students.
At a glance, we delivered:
A ‘Social Sketchup’ on INSET day (for over 100 staff members!)
A weekly lunchtime ‘Chill Art’ club open to all ages throughout the Spring/Summer terms
Social Sketchups’ for Years 7 - 10 (over 600 students) in Spring/Summer & for new Year 7 groups in September
A 6-week ‘Art of Self-Love’ project with a Y9 Art class
Wellbeing workshops for d/Deaf students
Thank you to the Westminster Brighter Futures Fund for supporting these projects, and to Miss Carney, Mr Grange, Mr Moriarty and Ms Semic for helping to make them happen without too many broken pencils!
CONNECTING tHE e17 COMMUNITY
On Saturday 6th & Sunday 7th August we hosted a weekend of family-friendly creative fun on Fellowship Square, Walthamstow. We ran a mix of bookable workshops, drop-in activities and a live portrait ‘bar’ where people could pose for a free mini portrait, drawn by our local Sketchy Bitches Artists!
We met some incredible people, drew a lot of portraits and learned a LOT about the logistics of running open air events! Thank you to everyone who came and made it one of our most memorable events yet. Fingers crossed we will be back to do it all again next summer!
Contributing Artists: Lee Anderson, Elyse Blackshaw, Monica Capestelgui, Sara Hughes, Caroline Joynson
" It was lovely to connect with other members of community, give and receive little portraits. It helped to improve my confidence when sketching, i Got a great sense of accomplishment from participating and after my first couple of sketches my inner critic went for a nap!"
Thanks to Waltham Forest Council for funding our SUMMER SKETCHFEST!
In February we were thrilled beyond words to be invited to host an Instagram Live workshop for the ACTUAL NATIONAL PORTRAIT GALLERY!! Our first brief was to create a fun and accessible workshop to mark LGBTQ+ History Month, inspired by portraits in the NPG Collection. We must've done something right as we were invited back to do 5 more, plus a one very special live talk with Portrait Artist Curtis Holder on World Mental Health Day! If you missed it and are interested you can watch it here.
self-care and SOLIDARITY
THROUGH sketching
2022 saw the return of many live events cancelled during the height of the pandemic. This included Teenage Cancer Trust's bi-annual 'Find Your Sense of Tumour' events for young people whose lives have been affected by cancer. I was thrilled to be invited back to host workshops at both the June and October events, and to see the TCT team again. We've been working together since July 2019 so it felt like a real homecoming!
As well as bringing young people together through playful portrait sessions, at the October edition of FYSOT we ran a zine workshop and invited participants to share their story - of diagnosis, treatment, recovery, or whatever they wanted to. The results were moving and powerful, and might just have inspired a whole new idea...
"Dulcie approaches each new project with passion but also a listening ear to the needs of the audience. She is a fantastic person to work with and I know the young people really enjoy the sessions she delivers and the innovative ways in which she engages with them. I look forward to working with her further in future and recommend her skills to any work around self development."
Kelly Scott, Head of Youth Engagement & Participation at Teenage Cancer Trust
re-connecting colleagues
We'd gotten used to delivering Team Sketchups on Zoom, but as people returned to the office it was great to be back to delivering IRL sessions! It's been great to work with regular and new clients this year, including The Design Council and the NSPCC! We've also continued to deliver virtual sessions - our most recent for Google.
With restrictions eased, we've been able to expand our work into healthcare and hospitals, and were delighted to be part of Arts Weeks run by St George's Hospital Charity and Cambridge University Hospital. Working with clinical NHS teams has to be one of the most rewarding and motivating experiences of this year - to see the difference in how people are when they arrive at a workshop (tense, anxious, mind elsewhere) versus how they are when they leave (laughing, present, at ease) is testimony to how powerful 60 minutes of playful sketching can be!
In December we delivered a workshop for Breathe Arts & Health Research - an incredible organisation who run pioneering participatory arts programmes with research at the heart. We're really excited to be doing some exploratory projects with them in the new year... watch this space!
“A wonderful session as part of our team away day. Dulcie got the group excited about drawing and overcame any reluctance from those who felt they couldn’t draw. fun, engaging and brought us together!"
Ian Johnson, Royal Airforce Benevolent Fund
AND FINALLY, A FEW PARTING SHOTS!
And that’s a wrap!
Collaborating on the creation of this dress with Anne-Sophie Cochevelou was a 2022 highlight for sure! Each letter took up to 8 hours to embellish! An exquisite and empowering creation to wear and fun photoshoot with Anthony Lycett.