Drawing by Indigo, Drawing Club Online

A diverse selection of drawings 

Over 130 drawings made by students aged 10 - 18 have been selected for our Young Artists Exhibition 2022, open from Friday 8th July until Friday 15th July at our Shoreditch gallery.

Drawing by Leo, Young Associates: Shoreditch

Each week on our courses, students challenge themselves to capture their observations of the world around them on paper. This is a rare opportunity for these young artists to show and potentially sell their work in a professionally curated public exhibition at the Royal Drawing School’s large gallery space in the creative East End. The selection was made by our senior faculty to reflect the range and talent of our Young Artists. This represents a small fraction of the thousands of drawings that have been made during the course of the last academic year.

Indigo, an Online Drawing Club student whose work was selected to appear on this year's invite says "I most enjoyed learning to use new materials, for example I had never used charcoal before. I am most proud of my oil pastel shoe drawing because I previously didn’t enjoy using oil pastel but now I love using them. I’m proud that my art is being featured on the invite to the Young artists exhibition because I worked really hard on that particular piece and I love that it was chosen. I plan to continue with art in the future, as I am starting art GCSE in September."

Drawing by Alice, Young Associates: Explore

Our programme for Young Artists offers a unique opportunity to students from all backgrounds, who want to develop their drawing skills further outside of their art classes at school. 

“I find the drawings I did from the locusts really successful because I captured movement and the patterns were really enjoyable to draw,” says Maya, a student on one of our Young Associates courses. 

Drawing by Maya, Young Associates: Shoreditch

Teaching, inspiration and encouragement is provided by professional artists who are alumni of our postgraduate programme, The Drawing Year. 

Hira Gedikoglu, Young Artists tutor 

Hira Gedikoglu has been teaching many of the students exhibiting this year. "I really enjoy the freedom of creating lesson plans that are not bound by a curriculum. As a tutor, I can explore areas in drawing that I am interested in and have the flexibility to plan lessons around what inspires my students as the term develops, which nurtures a really productive, collaborative learning environment." 

"My focus this term has been on problem solving and navigating mistakes by transforming them into new opportunities. It has been truly wonderful to watch the students work through their frustrations, break out of old habits, and explore new, innovative ways of making images. A few of the young artists shared some of their drawings outside of classes, and I could see how they had developed the themes or techniques we learnt in class into longer, more sustained drawings and translated them into their own way of working.

In the Spring Term, I brought some salmon heads into the studio and gave one to each student to set up a still life with fresh flowers. The aim of the session was to explore the boundary between the beautiful and grotesque. I truly believe that drawing from the unexpected is vital to give students the opportunity to approach new subjects, learn new processes and build a new dictionary of marks."

Drawing by Philomene, Young Associates: Shoreditch

"There is such a rich variety of classes on the Young Artists programme, led by some wonderful tutors (and artists). I am often so inspired by the student work shared online, and that’s just the tip of the iceberg! I think it’s crucial for the Young Artists to learn from each other, and to borrow techniques and materials to develop their unique visual language. This exhibition will allow them to see their work within a larger context, across venues and age groups. It’s a wonderful opportunity to celebrate the diversity of methods and styles together."

Dexter Orszagh, trainee tutor on the Young Artists programme

Dexter, a recent Drawing Year alumnus, has been undertaking a year of teacher training alongside established Young Artists programme tutors. "I have particularly enjoyed engaging the learners' understanding of space and narrative. For example, helping them to pull imagery from classical paintings at the National Gallery to develop their own visual languages. Planning and leading sessions is of particular interest to me and figuring out new and exciting ways to engage the Young Artists is something I thoroughly enjoy. In the future, I am eager to deliver a class which focuses on large scale, collaborative drawing.

I think student exhibitions are a crucial opportunity, not just to present work to a wider audience but also to celebrate and really triumph the diversity, dedication and brilliance of our Young Artists."

An inspiring children's illustrator as guest speaker

We were thrilled to have Coralie Bickford-Smith speak at the Young Artists Exhibition 2022 private view this year and meet our talented young artists. Coralie is a London based designer, illustrator and author. She is especially recognised and celebrated for her illustrated covers of Penguin’s clothbound classics, and is also the author-illustrator of The Fox and the Star (2015) – winner of the Waterstones Book of the Year award 2015 – and has gone on to create two other children's books. Some of our Young Artists, Leo, Indigo, and Judy, had the chance to interview Coralie about her creative process and inspiration.

If you would like to come and see the Young Artists Exhibition 2022, it will be open Friday 8th - Friday 15th July at our gallery studios in Shoreditch, from 9am – 9pm Monday to Friday and from 10am - 4pm on Sunday. We look forward to seeing you there.