Urban Sketching Festival
Urban Sketchers from Poland and Europe, let's unite! We invite you to the first international Urban Sketching Festival in Świdnica - from August 11 to 14 2022 this beautiful city in Lower Silesia, Poland, will be filled with amateurs of sketching on location. Drawing meetings among monuments, open-air workshops, exhibition, lectures, mobile rental of art materials, the possibility of testing Aquarius watercolors and a fair of products for artists are just some of the attractions; there will also be an opportunity to meet interesting people and join the international community admiring the world with a sketchbook in hand. Participation in the festival is completely free and you can take part in any number of events. Due to the limited number of participants, there is a registration for free open-air workshops that will be conducted by Justyna Wojnowska, Adam Michen, Krzysztof Ludwin and Jan Vítek from Prague.
Organizers: Urban Sketchers Poland, Świdnica Cultural Center and the international organization Urban Sketchers.
Official Festival Program
August 11, 2022 - Thursday
- 17:00 - Official opening of the Festival at the Photography Gallery of the Świdnica Cultural Center
- 17:30 - 20:00 - the Introduction to Urban Sketching lecture and workshop, conducted by Justyna Wojnowska at the Market Square
- 20:00 - Surprise-prize giveaway and a joint photo of the festival participants at the Market Square
- 20:00 - Drink & draw - introductory meeting of festival participants, meeting point at the Market Square
August 12, 2022 - Friday
- 10:00 - 12:00 - Visiting Świdnica together with a local artist and guide, meeting point at the Market Square next to the Photography Gallery of the Świdnica Cultural Center
- 12:00 - 13:00 - Presentation at the Photography Gallery of the Świdnica Cultural Center about Travel Sketching, led by Katarzyna Kosiak, Dora Pindur and Justyna Wojnowska
- 16:00 - 18:00 - Urban Sketching workshop at the Church of Peace (UNESCO), conducted by Adam Michen 🎨
- 18:00 - 19:30 - Sketch-walk - a drawing meetup in the open air, meeting point at the Church of Peace 🎨
- 19:30 - Surprise-prize giveaway and a joint photo of the festival participants at the Church of Peace
- 20:00 - Drink & draw in the form of a picnic - a meeting of the festival participants in the Central Park 🎨
August 13, 2022 - Saturday
- 10:00 - 15:00 - Fair of sketchbooks, tools and art materials useful for urban sketching, Photography Gallery of the Świdnica Cultural Center
- 11:00 - Lecture in English by a special guest Mohan Banerji (Urban Sketchers London) in the theater hall of the Świdnica Cultural Center
- 16:00 - 18:00 - Urban sketching workshop in English with Jan Vítek (Urban Sketchers Prague) at the gothic Cathedral 🎨
- 18:00 - 19:30 - Sketch-walk - an outdoor drawing meetup, assembly point at the Cathedral 🎨
- 19:30 - Surprise-prize giveaway and a joint photo of the festival participants at the Cathedral
- 20:00 - Drink & draw - a meetup of the festival participants, during which there will also be an exchange of art tools, the meeting place to be announced later 🎨
August 14, 2022 - Sunday
- 10: 00-12: 00 - Urban sketching workshop with Krzysztof Ludwin in the Market Square 🎨
- 12:00 - 13:30 - Sketch-walk, meeting point in the Market Square 🎨
- 13:30 - Surprise-prize giveaway and a joint photo of the festival participants in the Market Square
- 16:00 - Exhibition of works created during the Festival at the Photography Gallery of the Świdnica Cultural Center, along with voting for the most interesting sketch
- 16:30 - Announcement of the winners of the festival's competitions and an official farewell
🎨 - during the events marked with this symbol, a mobile rental of art materials by Paleta Art will be available.
During the entire festival, you will be able to see an exhibition of drawings of Polish Urban Sketchers at the Photography Gallery of the Świdnica Cultural Center. Sketches made during the festival will also be included.
The Terms and Conditions of the festival can be found here.
Registration for the festival
Participation in the festival is free and you can join any number of events (separate registration for the workshops is required due to the limited number of places). The first hundred people who sign up for the festival will receive a badge entitling them to discounts with our partners and a bag with gifts from our sponsors. Participants will also be able to win various awards in festival competitions. By signing up for the festival you accept the Terms and conditions.
Sign up forthe festival
Free workshops information
There is a limit of 20 participants for each workshop. Registration is closed, all lessons are fully booked. Below you can find information about materials required during workshops - please read carefully and bring all necessary tools.
Materials
Some of the materials will be provided by sponsors. We will use: paper for watercolor or mixed techniques with a minimum weight of 200 g, waterbrush, watercolors in basic colors, white Posca marker 0.7 mm.
Please bring with you:
- colored pencils (turquoise or light blue, light red, yellow, dark blue or purple)
- HB pencil (optionally)
- favorite brushes and a water container
Materials
Please bring with you:
- stick graphite 4B or 6B, (square section)
- mechanical pencil 0.5 mm with refill 2B
- other pencils by personal preferences, possibly a watercolor pencil and a waterbrush, or markers with water-soluble ink, 1-2 colored pencils
- sketchbook or pad, may be slightly rough, weight over 120 g / m2
Materials
Please bring with you:
- Acrylic markers, e.g. Acrylista or Posca (you cannot use watercolor markers, they are not sufficiently opaque). I recommend Acrylista acrylic markers with 6mm chisel tip and additionally you can buy some 15mm tip markers. White and black colors are necessary + additional colors, you can buy a set.
- Neocolor II Watersoluble Wax Pastels from Caran d’Ache (Neocolor I and most other wax or color pencils are not as opaque as we need, so Neocolor II are strongly recommended, you can buy a set of 10 or 15)
- Easel or firm support for the paper
You don't need any papers nor inks. I will bring enough prepared papers with random splashes of ink.
Materials
Please bring with you:
- two black markers and one marker with acrylic white or white ink
- brush
- beige paper (preferably in a block)
Festival sponsors:
Festival partners:
Urban Sketchers Poland
WHO WE ARE? We are a group promoting sketching on location in urban spaces, bringing together drawing enthusiasts of all skill levels. Urban Sketchers is a grassroots initiative that is implemented around the world, and its cradle is Seattle.
WHAT WE DO? We sketch the world around us using all available techniques, based on direct observation and the experience of being in a given place. We publish our works on the Internet and support each other in creative development, creating a unique international community.
FOR WHOM? Our drawing meetups are for everyone, regardless of age, opinions and skills - all you need is to like to draw (or paint). We want to show the world seen through our eyes, one sketch at a time.
We sketch in the spirit of our manifesto.
- We draw on location, indoors or out, capturing what we see from direct observation.
- Our drawings tell the story of our surroundings, the places we live, and where we travel.
- Our drawings are a record of time and place.
- We are truthful to the scenes we witness.
- We use any kind of media and cherish our individual styles.
- We support each other and draw together.
- We share our drawings online.
- We show the world, one drawing at a time.
Information about meetings and other events organized by us can be found here.
Contact
Urban Sketchers is a non-profit organization and it's mission is to raise the artistic, storytelling, and educational value of on-location drawing, promoting its practice and connecting people worldwide who draw on location where they live and travel.
Urban Sketchers Poland is a local chapter of this organization, and its goal is to spread the above mentioned values and ideas in Poland.
More information: www.urbansketchers.org