Date/Time
Date(s) - 24/02/2018
10:30 am - 1:00 pm

Location
Blavatnik Building, Tate Modern

10.30am – 1.00pm Saturday 24 February 2018 Start: Meet by the stairs on the 10th floor of the Blavatnik Building of Tate Modern, Bankside, London SE1 9TG. 

We all know how easy it is to snap a great view, especially when an opportunity like the one above is offered from the top of a tall building, but many of us find it far harder to capture it in a drawing or a sketch. More often we see the skyline from the ground while walking through a city or town. Capturing the essence of a skyline in a drawing or a sketch while on the move is something more to accomplish.  If that’s something that you would like to master then join us on this walkshop.

If you are looking for inspiration on how to approach walking and drawing in a creative, experimental and fun way, this is the walkshop for you.  This is an alternative way to look at, draw and immerse ourselves in a skyline.  We will begin with a drawing of a skyline view and then walk into the skyline, drawing as we go.

Drawing is considered in its widest sense, from pen and pencil on paper to performance, so there will be plenty of opportunities to embrace imagination and abstract, as well as real and observed details.

Suitable for beginners and those more experienced. You will be in a small group – the walkshop capacity is limited to 8 people. Ideal for anyone wanting to generate new artwork and ideas to develop their own art practice or to add to a student art portfolio.

• What happens on a “Drawn to the Skyline” walkshop:
  

  Blavatnik Building, Tate Modern

We begin at Tate Modern, where we ask you to travel by lift / elevator to the viewing gallery of the Blavatnik building, 10 floors up, to meet for the start of the walkshop.  The gallery offers 360 degree views of London’s skyline. From here, we will invite you to try your hand at a technique to capture elements of the skyline – we will show you how.

We then travel to ground level (level 1 of the Blavatnik building), walk over the Turbine Hall to leave the galleries by the ‘River Entrance’, to cross the river by the Millennium Bridge.  We will encourage you to try out some individual and small group drawing activities, as we cross the bridge.  On reaching the north bank, we bear right, and walk through One Chance Court to St Paul’s Churchyard, and stop briefly at 25 Cannon Street to try a further exercise.

We travel to the roof top terrace of One New Exchange (level 6) to capture a skyline view of Tate Modern and the landmark buildings along the south bank.  Returning to ground level, we walk around the base of St Paul’s, choosing an intimate coffee shop in Carter Lane to conclude the walkshop.

Please note that the majority of the route is accessible, however, there is a point where one needs to negotiate a few steps – if you have mobility issues, do let us know and we can try to adjust the route accordingly.

• What you should bring and what we provide:

We will provide all the materials you need, but if you have your own sketchbook, do bring it. Be aware that their is a bag search as you enter the Blavatnik building.

If you can, try to come unencumbered by bags. We tend to run walkshops in all weathers and in all seasons, so come prepared, and do bring gloves, a waterproof, a fold-up umbrella and wear comfy shoes.

Following the walkshop we will send you a resource list of any references or images that we refer to during the walkshop. Find the resource list here.

Special introductory offer: £45 (plus booking fee)

If you arrive early for the walkshop, we would encourage you to visit the Living Cities exhibition on Level 4 of the Blavatnik building.

This autumn we have been out exploring routes and view points including, a line to St Paul’s from the Point in Greenwich, views surrounding Hilly Fields in Brockley, and from rooftop terraces along the Thames.  We have recruited help from the team at Open Street Map, Europeana and the GEM Museums and Galleries network.

Drawing lead for these walkshops is Ruth Broadbent, an artist and associate lecturer who specialises in drawing and sculpture, including combining the two. Click here to find out more about Ruth’s practice.

She will be supported by Andrew Stuck, Founder of the Museum of Walking, an urban designer who when taking his Masters failed his drawing module twice….

If you have a favourite view point or skyline, why not drop us a suggestion via our Get in Touch page.

What participants told us on previous Drawn to the Skyline walkshops: 

“Thank you for making this morning’s expedition such fun! I looked with new eyes at things I had not noticed before. I’m certainly going to try more skyline sketches from Tate’s viewing platform. Ruth obviously has so many good ideas and such a friendly way of communicating them.” Dec17 participant.

What I like best about the event | What I found surprising | How much I enjoyed it and why?

• Guidance, small group and range of techniques | Challenges were pleasing| 5 stars | Something new / Noticing new things / Seeing in a fresh way
• New techniques | Follow the line drawing | 4 stars | Small group, great teacher / Longer please!
• Good (small) size group / Helpful advice from Ruth | How fun it can be to experiment!| 4 stars | A lovely way to get ideas I can develop
• Learning different techniques | Fun. / How much I achieved| 4 stars | Lovely teacher / Encouraging / Learnt new techniques

 

Walking in Step with

Ruth Broadbent