'Go big and stay home!'

National Gallery of Ireland announces National Drawing Day 2020 will take place in homes around the country

Sixteenth annual celebration of drawing on 16 May 2020

For the very first time, in 2020, National Drawing Day is taking place in people’s homes. An initiative of the National Gallery of Ireland, supported by the Department of Culture, Heritage and the Gaeltacht, National Drawing Day encourages people to get drawing on Saturday 16 May 2020. Asking the public to ‘Go big and stay home’, the Gallery and dozens of partner venues will bring the joy of drawing to homes across the country through online platforms.

The National Gallery of Ireland leads the programme with activities for all ages and abilities, including the latest in the series of National Gallery at Home videos for children, finding inspiration in Gerard Dillon’s The Little Green Fields and local surroundings to create a mini masterpiece. Curator Anne Hodge will share some insights into new drawings in the Gallery’s collection by the artist George Wallace. 

For the sixteenth year of National Drawing Day, the National Gallery of Ireland is collaborating with over 30 venues across the island of Ireland. Galleries, museums, libraries and arts centres in Antrim, Clare, Cork, Donegal, Down, Dublin, Fermanagh, Kerry, Kildare, Kilkenny, Leitrim, Meath, Offaly, Waterford, Wexford and Westmeath will be getting involved.

Highlights from around the country include online workshops with popular artist Don Conroy who has teamed up with Garter Lane Arts Centre, Waterford. The National Library of Ireland celebrates Séamus Heaney as it encourages people to create their own artistic depictions of the iconic poet and his poetry. The Library will also present an online talk exploring famous portraits of Heaney. The National Museum of Ireland is joined by Paper Panther, an award-winning animation studio specialising in stop motion, for a step-by-step tutorial. From home, people will be able to create animations inspired by museum objects.

The National Gallery of Ireland and participating venues encourage artists and other creatives across the country to get involved with Drawing Day 2020. A selection of drawings posted by artists or the public online using the hashtag #NationalDrawingDay and #InThisTogether will be shared with the Gallery’s 100,000+ followers on social media throughout the day.

This special Drawing Day coincides with International Museum Day 2020. The theme is ‘Museums for Equality: Diversity and Inclusion’. As International Museum Day celebrates the diversity of perspectives that make up the communities of museums, the National Gallery of Ireland will participate by championing drawing and creativity with National Drawing Day.

Details of National Drawing Day events and initiatives across the country can be found on the Gallery's website. Participating venues will share drawings with the hashtag #NationalDrawingDay.
 

Participating venues:

Butler Gallery, Kilkenny / Centre for Contemporary Art Derry-Londonderry / The Chester Beatty Library / Crawford Art Gallery, Cork / Creative Spark, Louth / The Dock, Carrick-on-Shannon / Dublin City Gallery The Hugh Lane / F.E. McWilliam Gallery and Studio, Banbridge / Fermanagh County Museum / Garter Lane Arts Centre, Waterford / Glebe House and Gallery, Letterkenny / Glór, Ennis / Glucksman, Cork /  Kerry County Museum, Tralee / Lismore Castle Arts / Little Museum of Dublin / The Luan Gallery, Athlone / Mid-Antrim Museum at The Braid, Ballymena / National Design & Craft Gallery / National Library of Ireland / National Museum of Ireland - Collins Barracks / National Museums NI, Ulster Museum / National Print Museum / Natural History Museum / Northern Ireland War Memorial / Presentation Arts Centre, Wexford / Royal Hibernian Academy, Dublin / Riverbank Arts Centre, Kildare / Science Gallery, Dublin / Solstice Arts Centre, Navan / Temple Bar Gallery + Studios / Tin Jug Studio, Birr / United Arts Club / West Cork Arts Centre / Wexford Arts Centre

Gallery closure:
The National Gallery of Ireland is currently closed, but there are countless ways for the public to engage with its national collection during this time. Initiatives include National Gallery at Home videos, Work of the Day, Mindfulness and Art, and at-home activities connected to the national collection. Virtual tours of iconic spaces such as the Shaw Room and the Grand Gallery, as well as recent exhibition Murillo: The Prodigal Son Restored, can also be explored from home. Find out more on the Gallery's website

About Drawing Day:
National Drawing Day has been running since 2005. What began as a small initiative has blossomed, with thousands of people now taking part each year, all over Ireland. National Drawing Day is supported by the Department of Culture, Heritage and the Gaeltacht. It will form the Gallery’s contribution to International Museum Day 2020. The theme this year is “Museums for Equality: Diversity and Inclusion”. Events, whether onsite, offsite or online, encourage and support access to the arts for all, regardless of age, ability or social circumstances. #NationalDrawingDay #InternationalMuseumDay #IMD20 #InThisTogether

About the National Gallery of Ireland:
The National Gallery of Ireland is one of the country’s most popular visitor attractions housing the nation’s collection of European and Irish art from about 1300 to the present day, and an extensive Library & Archive. Entry to the collection is free for all to enjoy, learn and be inspired.