The National Gallery made a film about DrawTogether Strangers!
And they nailed it.
Hey DrawTogether peeps!
Popping up midweek with something super special: The National Gallery of Art in Washington DC produced the most wonderful video about DrawTogether Strangers. You can watch it here:
The amazing folks at the NGA put so much heart into capturing the impact of the project, and showing how profound the experience of using drawing to slow down, pay attention, and see one another can be.
And also… how silly and hilarious and fun.
A few months back I visited the National Gallery of Art to give a talk about Dorothea Lange in relationship to my work (dream), and host a day-long DrawTogether Strangers activation in the NGA’s atrium, right underneath their giant Calder mobile (double dream.) I trained an amazing crew of NGA staffers to co-facilitate the experience, and together we hosted hundreds of people from all over the world, inviting strangers to sit down and use drawing to really SEE one another.
Earlier in the week, the NGA production crew pulled out all the stops and we filmed the project for a day, pulling in NGA staff and strangers who happen to pass by. The result is this wonderful video, and info on how YOU can participate in the ongoing project. (You can read more and download a toolkit here.)
DrawTogether Strangers is an ongoing public art project that I continue to facilitate, and plan to take a national tour, culminating with an event in Washington DC in 2025. If you are a member of a cultural institution and you’re interested in hosting DrawTogether Strangers reach out to studio@wendymacnaughton.com.
Please share the video far and wide to inspire others to participate, too!
And if (when!) you host a DrawTogether Strangers public experience, please remember to share images (send to studio@wendymacnaughton.com), and tag #DrawTogetherStrangers on social media posts so we can keep the momentum going and the project growing, and keep track of its impact.
Thank you SO MUCH to the fab folks at the National Gallery of Art for bringing DrawTogether Strangers to your spectacular museum (best in the world!) and to the production team for telling the story of the effort so beautifully. And NGA Education peeps, love you so! And DrawTogether donors and members who help make these public art projects of mine sustainable: THANK YOU!!
DrawTogether GUT peeps, see you Sunday for our Summer Series Visiting Artist: Gretchen Rubin!
PENCILS UP! xoxo,
w
PS. if you want to watch that Dorothea Lange talk, you can watch that here:
Love this—such genuine openness and connection! And laughter.
That looks like so much fun!