The Big Draw

Press Release

For Immediate Release

July 21, 2008

Lisa Gold
(212) 219-2166, ext. 214
lgold@drawingcenter.org

The Drawing Center is proud to present

The Big Draw

as part of The River To River Festival

September 6, 2008

11:00 am - 4:00 pm

with an evening event from 7:00 – 10:00 pm

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A free, day-long drawing event for all ages at 5 Lower Manhattan venues

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On Saturday, September 6, 2008 from 11:00 am to 4:00 pm, The Drawing Center and the River To River Festival will present The Big Draw, a celebration of drawing inspired by the wildly popular United Kingdom program of the same name. Now in its third year, The Big Draw will invite people of all ages to join in hands-on, artist-led projects that are guaranteed to change the way they think about drawing. Audiences will be encouraged to pick up a free sketchbook and express their creativity through inventive, site-specific projects at these fantastic Lower Manhattan venues:  Battery Park City Parks Conservancy’s Teardrop Park, New York Water Taxi, Smithsonian’s National Museum of the American Indian, South Street Seaport Museum’s Schooner Pioneer, and World Financial Center Plaza.

All events are FREE and open to the public.

The Drawing Center is pleased to announce this year’s participating artists: Larry Dobens, Jeffrey Gibson, Marie Lorenz with Lan Tuazon, and Julia Mandle, J Mandle Performance.  Larry Dobens’s project will encourage participants to create hybrid drawings of animals inspired by the past and present wildlife of Teardrop Park. Working at the Smithsonian’s National Museum of the American Indian, Jeffrey Gibson will collaborate with Louis Mofsie, The Heyna Second Sons Singers, and Native American dancers to explore how sound and movement can be captured through mark, gesture, and line.  Julia Mandle, J Mandle Performance will engage audiences in a game of hopscotch with performers wearing cast chalk shoes to create a giant, interactive drawing. Marie Lorenz and Lan Tuazon will investigate the city’s “edge zones” via water with a program of storytelling, drawing, and conversation on board a special New York Water Taxi cruise during the day. Later that evening, they will lead an evening drawing excursion/murder mystery aboard the South Street Seaport Museum’s historic schooner Pioneer.

More information can be found at www.drawingcenter.org and www.RiverToRiverNYC.com.

The convenient Downtown Connection shuttle bus will offer quick and free transport between all of The Big Draw venues. For a map of the bus route and venues, please visit www.RiverToRiverNYC.com.   

THE BIG DRAW VENUES

Battery Park City Parks Conservancy’s Teardrop Park is located between Warren and Murray Streets, east of River Terrace, in Battery Park City.

The New York Water Taxi will depart from Pier 17 at the South Street Seaport.

Smithsonian's National Museum of the American Indian is located at The George Gustav Heye Center, U.S. Custom House, One Bowling Green across from Battery Park.

South Street Seaport Museum’s Schooner Pioneer is located at the South Street Seaport, Pier 16, Fulton and South Streets.

World Financial Center Plaza is located at the Winter Garden Plaza, Between Vesey and Liberty Streets, in Battery Park City.


ABOUT THE RIVER TO RIVER FESTIVAL

The River To River Festival, presented by American Express, is a collaboration of the Lower Manhattan’s major cultural event producers including the Alliance for Downtown New York, arts>World Financial Center, Battery Park City Authority, Lower Manhattan Cultural Council, Port Authority of NY & NJ, and South Street Seaport. These partners are firmly committed to using the arts as a tool for revitalization and the development of new audiences. Free admission to River To River events is underwritten by a wide range of funders, led by the Festival's Founding Title Sponsor, American Express. Major support is provided by the Festival's Producing Sponsors, including Lower Manhattan Development Corporation, WNBC, Telemundo 47 and WNYC New York Public Radio.

CREDITS

The Big Draw is part of the Arts on the Horizon series presented by the River To River Festival and made possible by a grant from the Lower Manhattan Development Corporation, which is funded through Community Development Block Grants from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development. Additional funding is provided by Manhattan Borough President Scott M. Stringer through the NYC & Company Foundation and by public funds from the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs.

MISSION STATEMENT

The Drawing Center is the only not-for-profit U.S. museum to focus solely on the exhibition of drawings, both historical and contemporary. It was established in 1977 to provide opportunities for emerging and under-recognized artists; to demonstrate the significance and diversity of drawings throughout history; and to stimulate public dialogue on issues of art and culture.

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The Drawing Center
35 Wooster Street
New York, NY 10013

phone: 212-219-2166

www.drawingcenter.org