Five years ago we started a project that was a bit of an adventure. The museum wanted to offer our local public an activity open to all, which was participative and at the same time fun, but that it should also have a sense with our collection and the creative process of Picasso.
Learning more about the “Big Draw” project, organised by the English non-profit organisation The Campaign for Drawing, provided us with a conceptual framework from which we could design an event within this international project.
Big Draw 2010
We wanted to be loyal to the principles of drawing for all, drawing to learn and drawing as a cross-disciplinary tool proposed by the English Big Draw, but we also wanted it to be very personal, very much from Barcelona itself and from the Museu Picasso, very open and that in an enjoyable way it would celebrate the link of Picasso with drawing, as well as with the beauty of our neighbourhood and the cultural wealth contributed by the diverse participating institutions. We also wanted to offer a high quality creative proposal, with workshops led by professionals (recognised or emerging), notable for their innovative spirit.
Big Draw 2011
The project was presented within a context of a economic crisis in which a new proposal was very well received: it represented a young shoot of optimism. Since that first edition, with seven spaces in which 12 workshops (all organised by the Picasso) were presented, and with 3,500 participants in the workshops, the project has grown continually. In the second edition 11 additional spaces were incorporated, and in the third edition it went from being a proposal totally led by the museum, to being a proposal in which the various participating entities had already made it their own, and in which they programmed their own activities.
Big Draw 2012
That third edition was also an edition of growth, above all in terms of public: in only the two previous editions, the event had already become an annual date in the diary for the Barcelona citizens and a day to celebrate the potential of creativity. The number of participants tripled those of the first edition, but the proposal didn’t lose any of its essential values of celebration, joint work and a happy and enjoyable spirit in a creative proposal of quality.
Video summary Big Draw 2013
The Big Draw of 2013 was a consolidation of the project, both in terms of the level of participation of the public, as well as the format and contents of the proposal. It is now a “brand” in Barcelona, an exciting day where everyone, young, adults and families enjoy creating and also enjoy the historic setting.
Workshop leaders of the Big Draw. Photos: Jordi Mota
As an evaluation, from the team, we feel that we have created an important project that already has a name and a loyal public; that we have been true to the original values that we defined; that the initial task of design and reflection of the proposal, and the constant task of revision of the processes during these four years, have borne their fruits and have allowed it to grow; that from the entities of the neighbourhood it has become a much-loved and highly-rated project that moreover has served to establish strong ties of internal collaboration between entities; that from the world of creation there is a desire to participate, as can be seen from the numerous proposals that are sent to us each year, and increasingly so, asking to participate; and that the non-commercial spirit of the event is highly appreciated by the public.
Anna Guarro
Activites and Education
Related links
Big Draw 2014
Big Draw 2013
Big Draw 2012
Big Draw 2011
Big Draw 2010
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