Ortelius Drew Sketchbook Prize Launch

27 May 2011, Amsterdam, NL

Congratulations to Lotte Klaver winner of the ORTELIUS DREW SKETCHBOOK PRIZE 2011! Tied for second place Honourable Mention: Anja Sijben & Mari Stoel. Thanks to everyone who participated! We hope to make this an anual event.

On 27 May 2011 the Ortelius Drew drawing group (AMSTERDAM) held their monthly drawing session on the 7th floor of the Volkskrantgebouw at restaurant Canvas op de 7e. People working in the building as well as the neighboring public were also invited to come out and draw. From this view from the top, this diverse group of artists, illustrators and architects drew from the transforming area below surrounding the Wibautstraat.

The drawings from this session were exhibited in the lobby of the Volkskrantgebouw in conjunction with the TRANSVORMERS festival on 3 June 2011.

The judges for the Ortelius Drew Sketchbook Prize are:
Hein de Haan, HEIN DE HAAN ARCHITECTUUR STEDENBOUW
Jasper Eustace, EUSTACE DESIGN
UNFOLD Amsterdam magazine

Drawing DiverCITIES

October 2010, London, UK

Drawing DiverCITIES is a Walk-Talk- and -Draw event that took place on Friday the 29th October 2010 from 10am-3pm. It encouraged new MSc. Urban Regeneration students from the Bartlett School of Planning and local community groups to share perspectives on the transformation of the King’s Cross area through the communicative act of drawing. Dr Susan Moore and Dr Nikos Karadimitriou from The Bartlett School of Planning have organised this event.

The event began at Wates House, UCL, where a group of 30 participants embarked on a 2.5-hour guided walk through the King’s Cross regeneration area stopping at key points of interest in the transformative geography of this part of the city. Key landmarks, buildings, intersections, junctures and other miscellaneous points of social, architectural and historical significance provided the setting for impromptu drawing sessions led by the collaborative, mobile and performative drawing collective Ortelius Drew. The artists encouraged participants to see how the act of drawing with others demonstrates the extent to which each individual sees something different whilst exploring the same scene. Each drawing is unique, thus representing a diversity of viewpoints and understandings of urban change. Three drawing exercises were undertaken at different points along the walk. First, all together and then divided into two groups for a further two more exercises.

The walk ended at Wates House where an informal discussion of the drawings and their diverse interpretations was convened. The drawings are showcased in the ground floor gallery for a week long exhibition which is open to the public.

No previous drawing skills were required. The emphasis of this event is on the sharing of ideas, reflections, interpretations and meanings embodied in the urban transformations affecting our shared local community and about using drawing as a tool for communication and sharing ideas and concerns. It is a unique opportunity for community residents, activists and other interested individuals to interact with future planners and regeneration practitioners and to share their experiential knowledge of urban change and the everyday impacts of planning-in-action. The intention is that the students will also gain a valuable insight into the need to be sensitive to local perspectives and enhance their abilities to communicate effectively with local residents and stakeholders.

More images on this blog Better places through active participation.

Find out more about projects funded by the Public Engagement Unit at UCL.

The Open West

February – March 2010, Cheltenham, UK

Ortelius Drew was commissioned to create a site-specific drawing installation for The Cheltenham Art Gallery & Museum as part of The Open West exhibition in Cheltenham, UK. We spent five days in the town researching, collecting and recording our interactions with the town, its gardens, parks, collections, architecture and people which resulted in 49 new drawings for the Museum. We also ran an informal drawing group with local students, artists and museum staff. Ortelius Drew exhibited two earlier drawings, selected by the curators, in the Summerfield Gallery, University of Gloucestershire.

See the website for more information:

Take Off

March 2008, Amsterdam, NL

During a month-long residency at Kanaal 10 in Amsterdam we developed what was to become Ortelius Drew. Working from sketches of an earlier visit to London and each others’ sketchbooks, we made about 70 new drawings and paintings that were exhibited in an installation on one wall.