OXYGEN OFFERS FREE ONLINE COMMUNITY DRAWING PROGRAM, THE BIG DRAW
May 2021
Oxygen Art Centre presents an online community drawing program, The Big Draw throughout May 2021. The Big Draw Festival is a worldwide celebration of drawing where the language of drawing is used as a tool for learning, expression, and invention.
The 2021 theme for The Big Draw is “Make the Change.” The festival states, “In 2021, we want to take action, to explore and discover ways to live in balance with the world around us, to reconnect with each other and demand a better world for future generations.”
Participants are invited to pick-up a free art supply kit at Oxygen Art Centre on Saturday, May 1, 2021 from 12:00pm – 3:00pm until supplies last. Kits include the sketchbook crawl calendar and drawing materials. Oxygen is located at #3-320 Vernon Street, Nelson, BC, alleyway entrance.
Weekly exercises will be released throughout the month of May 2021 through Oxygen’s social media channels and website, as well as a live online event held via Zoom on Saturday, May 29, 2021 from 1:00pm – 2:00pm. Everyone welcome to attend. R.S.V.P. to the event by emailing info@oxygenartcentre.org
Oxygen’s The Big Draw Facilitator, Anita Levesque, developed a series of all-ages community drawing exercises inspired by the theme, “Make the Change.” Exercises will be available online for community members, families, and drawing enthusiasts to learn new skills, share documentation of their work online, and explore the connections between activism and creativity through the act of drawing.
The Big Draw is a free community drawing celebration taking place throughout May 2021 via Oxygen’s online channels. Weekly exercises will include a mixture of drawing exercises to explore in both your homes and outside in nature. A final Zoom event will celebrate the month-long drawing festival on Saturday, May 29th from 1:00 – 2:00pm. Drop in anytime or join us for the entire hour of drawing. R.S.V.P. to attend by emailing info@oxygenartcentre.org.
The Big Draw is generously supported by Osprey Community Foundation, Nelson and District Credit Union, and Nelson Lions Club.
Facilitator Bio:
Anita Levessque
Anita Levesque, a long-time Oxygen Art Centre member and current board member is excited to facilitate, yet again, The Big Draw at Oxygen Art Centre. Levesque has exhibited her work at various art galleries across Canada, predominantly drawing and installation art. She is the co-founder of Oxygen Art Centre’s successful children’s art camps and co-founder of SelfDesign Learning Community’s annual Art Intensives for high school youth. Levesque has spent the past nine years focused on family life, while also working as an educator and program coordinator with the SelfDesign Learning Community. She has also offered a host of Artist Trading Card events throughout the community and online. Of arts programming for children, Levesque says: “Art is essential. It connects us and brings great joy to our lives. By making and creating, we become problem solvers, exercising both sides of our brains. It is a celebration of beauty, a mode to express what is deep within, and a tool to better understand our place in the world.”
Image Credit: Oxygen Art Centre, The Big Draw, Calendar of events, 2021