Drawing Democracies Event Draws Crowds to Brooklyn Campus

What activity unifies all visual artists and designers? They draw.

To celebrate this universal act, both current students and local families participated in Drawing Democracies, a daylong event featuring a broad array of drawing-related activities on Pratt Institute’s Brooklyn campus on October 19.

Drawing Democracies kicked off with Drawing Conversations, a gathering hosted by The Drawing Center, in which participants sat down for two-minute rotating conversations with artists, curators, students, and educators to explore the significance of drawing.

Several gatherings also sought to draw neighborhood youngsters to campus with a kid-friendly focus. Children of all ages were invited to participate in a site-specific installation, stop-motion animation, and screen-printing projects. Many had come to Pratt for the Department of Art and Design Education’s regular Saturday Art School and opted to remain on campus for more fun. Some attendees stuck around to draw Dance Theatre of Harlem dancers as they rehearsed across from the Engineering Quadrangle. Organizations like The Drawing Center and Art21 also co-hosted other events.

The event was coordinated by Pratt Institute’s Fine Arts, Foundation, and Art and Design Education Departments and The Drawing Club.