Get creative at The Big Draw 2010

Mayor of London Boris Johnson will launch a free 2-day drawing festival, Make Your Mark on the Future, as part of The Campaign for Drawing's annual Big Draw event.

The special Big Draw weekend will see the mayor take to The Scoop at More London on Friday 22 October in order to unveil free events along the river from London Bridge to Tower Bridge, celebrating London’s changing skyline with architects, artists, archaeologists and cartoonists.

With the belief that everyone can draw - no matter how old, young, amateur or professional - The Campaign for Drawing wants London to embrace their creative side by taking part in life drawing sessions, paint on huge murals, compare portraits and explore the history of the city by sketching its landmarks.

Cartoonists from The Guardian, The Financial Times, The Sun, Private Eye and the Professional Cartoonists Organisation will also go head to head in the annual Battle of the Cartoonists competition. See Steve Bell, Martin Rowson and others show off their skills!

David Hockney, Patron of The Campaign for Drawing, said: “Drawing is a vital part of every creative process. It should be part of a visual education, in the same way that doing press-ups is part of an athlete’s training.”

Sue Grayson Ford, Director of The Campaign for Drawing said: “Big Draw events are designed to break down the ‘I can’t draw’ barrier. Our aim is to show that drawing is a vital tool for learning, observation, thought, creativity and communication. Best of all it’s accessible - at the end of our fingertips.”

Boris Johnson, Mayor of London, said: “It is great news that other cities round the world are finding out about the power of the Big Draw. Although I would not claim to be an artist, I have always loved drawing. I doodle all the time. I hope everyone will join in.”

Make your Mark on the Future is part of the Big Draw 2010, a celebration of drawing taking place in hundreds of venues all over the UK and for the first time internationally throughout the month of October.

The Big Draw has become the largest and most influential drawing campaign in the world, bringing thousands of people together for the hands-on experience of drawing.

This year for the first time there will be affiliated events around the world including at the Museu Picasso de Barcelona, city-wide in Berlin, The Museum of Fine Arts and National Archives of Hungary in Budapest, The Getty Center and Huntington Library in Los Angeles, the National Art School in Sydney and the Architecture Biennale in Venice.

Participants who are unable to get to a live event will be able to participate on line with Draw and Fold Over, a unique online drawing game specially created for the Campaign for Drawing which cleverly combines the feeling of drawing by hand with the social benefits of the internet: drawandfoldover.com

Big Draw events during October in London include:

• The Battle of the Cartoonists from papers including The Guardian, Financial Times, Private Eye and The Sun attempting to outdraw themselves on giant sketch-pads at The Scoop.

• Drawing with Award-winning picture book author and illustrator, Salvatore Rubbino and a team of artists at the National Portrait Gallery.

• An insight into the extraordinary pre-psychedelic world of Len Lye’s 1938 cult film ‘Colour Flight’, and a chance to experiment with painting on celluloid at the Renoir Cinema.

• Workshops led by Harry Potter illustrator, Cliff Wright, at the British Museum.

• Learning about the art of medical illustration with professionals at the Royal College of Surgeons’ Hunterian Museum surrounded by the museum’s extraordinary collection of medical specimens.

• Participating in the creation of a giant new landscape of Britain inspired by Turner and Constable at the National Gallery.

• Botanical drawing sessions at the South London Botanic Institute.

• A family drawing day organised by the Serpentine Gallery inspired by the sculptures of Anish Kapoor in the park and Jean Nouvel’s Pavilion.

• The Drawing Theatre, a surreal fusion of performance and drawing, as part of the David Lynch season at the Battersea Arts Centre.