<p>As practitioners with a focus on performative drawing, Marie and Beth co-founded ‘Discovering Through Drawing’ in 2017, a platform for contemporary drawing research, with an ambition to create the inaugural symposium.</p> <p>The event invited papers, workshops and live performances that explored relationships between the body and drawing, investigating issues around exhibiting performative works, audience and boundaries.</p>

<p>Having over 100 delegates all concerned with drawing in one venue created a lively atmosphere of discussion, exchange and connections. Speakers such as Kate Mason, director of The Big Draw organisation, Dr Jo Graham, lecturer in drawing at Falmouth University and Chloe Briggs and Véronique Devoldere of Paris College of Art, captured the geographic range and varied theoretical drawing concerns.<br /></p>

<p>The day provided a flavour of how we experience and apply drawing and what current research is unearthing. Dr Stephen Felmingham chaired the closing plenary remarking that the event had been a huge success gathering together a “community of drawers to see what lives inside. It was about bringing together architecture, theatre, voice, choreography, dance, movement, gesture and many other things, many acts, into a kind of theatre of drawing so suddenly, it becomes everything.”</p>

<p><strong>We caught up with some of the visitors to find out what they thought of the symposium:</strong></p> <p>“Thank you for a brilliant experience”</p> <p>“I found the day inspiring. As an artist that doesn’t draw, the day opened up new opportunities for me and has given me the confidence to reintroduce drawing into my practice”</p> <p>“It was a brilliant and extremely insightful event and I would love to attend a future event on the same, or closely related, topic should it be held…”</p> <p>“At the end of the day, I felt energised and uplifted and eager for more….”</p> <p>“I really enjoyed the event. It’s the first time I’ve been to Plymouth and I intend to come back…”</p>

<p><strong>Website: </strong><a href="http://www.drawsymposium.co.uk/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">www.drawsymposium.co.uk</a><br /><strong>Instagram:</strong> <a href="http://instagram.com/drawsymposium" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">@drawsymposium</a><br /><strong>Twitter:</strong> <a href="http://twitter.com/drawsymposium" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">@drawsymposium</a></p> <p>Photos by Sarah Packer and <a href="http://www.alekskhotilovski.co.uk/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Aleks Khotilovski</a>.</p><ul><li>Discover our <a href="https://www.aup.ac.uk/courses/undergraduate/ba-hons-painting-drawing-printmaking" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">BA (Hons) Painting, Drawing &amp; Printmaking</a> and <a href="https://www.aup.ac.uk/courses/postgraduate/ma-drawing" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">MA Drawing</a> programmes.</li><li><a href="https://www.aup.ac.uk/posts/factory-settings-at-tate-exchange-exploring-personalised-journeys-through-c" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Read about the visitor experience in our learning factory at Tate Exchange.</a></li><li><a href="https://www.aup.ac.uk/open-days" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Interested in creative study? Book onto one of our Open Days.</a></li></ul>