Look How Far We've Come
Look How Far We've Come
A look back on what DrawTogether has accomplished, and all we have ahead.
HAPPY BIRTHDAY DrawTogether Art Club!
One year ago, this DrawTogether Art Club was born. In just 12 short months (well, technically 24 if you count the first year of the pandemic), we’ve accomplished so much together. None of it could have happened without our amazing DrawTogether team - and YOU. Thank you to paid subscribers - you help make DrawTogether possible.
Today I thought it would be good to pause and take a look back at all we’ve done in our first official year - and give a little peek about what’s to come. So without further ado… DRUMROLLLLLL…
WE MADE A WHOLE DARN TV SHOW!! A tiny but mighty, committed crew (including a handful of masked, safely distanced DT kids) built an entire TV set out of cardboard and paper mache - then we shot, edited and produced 12 full episodes of DrawTogether! Each episode features drawing, dancing, animation, an original score, field trips and awesome guest artists. And we did it all on a shoestring during the pandemic. <3
WE LAUNCHED THE DRAWTOGETHER PODCAST! Every week we create a 8-10 minute drawing podcast to teach kids the basics of drawing, art, creativity and Social Emotional Learning (SEL) skills.
WE ESTABLISHED THE NON-PROFIT ‘DRAWTOGETHER CLASSROOMS’ to help educators introduce more SEL-focused art programming into their classrooms. In addition to providing DT shows and podcasts, we created a supportive educator guide, posters and picture frames by famous illustrators for their classrooms. The DT Classrooms pilot program is happening right now in 100 classrooms, and our goal is to reach 10k classrooms by 2023.
WE INSTALLED A DRAWTOGETHER STUDIO INSIDE A NATIONAL MUSEUM! DrawTogether and the Indianapolis Museum of Art (now called Newfields) partnered to create a unique interactive drawing/heart-expanding experience inside the museum. Accompanied by a custom video created for Newfields, kids and families make drawings inspired by the museum’s gardens, hang their drawings inside the museum on the DT gallery wall, and take home a special DT pencil to keep up the inspiration. The DT Studio is up in Newfield’s for a whole year, so if you’re in Indianapolis, be sure to check it out!
WE ARE DELIVERING 2,000 DRAWTOGETHER ART KITS filled with high quality art supplies to kids around the countries in classrooms in need of art supplies. (Thank you to all of you who contributed to make this happen! Such a huge impact!)
PBS NEWSHOUR and NEW YORK MAGAZINE did feature pieces on DrawTogether’s work and impact.
And of course, a year ago this week, we launched THIS DT ART CLUB NEWSLETTER to provide the podcast, all the art activities, the articles, the tips and tricks, all the love direct to your inbox, and hear directly back from you.
I’m sure I’m missing a TON of stuff. None of it could be done with the great people contributing to DrawTogether - and YOU.
In the year ahead: We are working towards creating more shows and episodes. More to come on that. :) We are also working on super secret partnerships with a certain SPACE agency, national LIBRARIES and EDUCATION orgs, art supply manufacturers and more… All to bring heart/SEL-focused art education to kids around the world.
And we can’t do it without you. Your paid subscription here really helps us keep making stuff and helping DrawTogether grow, so THANK YOU for subscribing, then and now.
Phew! That’s it. We’ll be back next week with a new (silly, fun) DT Podcast. Meantime, thank you again for being part of this journey. Pencils up, friends.
Everything is better when we DrawTogether,
Big love, xoxo
w (and Art Assistant Caroline and Suso.)
All so great. Newfields is a wonderful museum. Indianapolis should be proud.💪
amazing! congrats on all the accomplishments