Power Drawing Professional Development


Wakehurst Place, 2005	Kew Gardens, 2006	The Workhouse (NT), 2005

Power Drawing professional development programme

Building on the Campaign’s successful previous work, this new national programme launches in spring 2008. It aims to embed drawing as a medium for learning in a variety of settings – schools, museums, galleries, heritage sites and community settings.

Power Drawing works in partnership with national, regional and local agencies and organisations. The programme includes:

Three-day courses for educators in primary and secondary schools, museums, galleries and heritage sites. Participants have opportunities to share ideas, to view examples, to engage in drawing activities, and to plan and review the use of drawing in their own practice. These run for one full day and two twilight sessions a few months apart.

One-day courses for Advanced Skills Teachers (ASTs) and coordinators with responsibility for art and design, so that strategies and techniques for supporting drawing activities across the curriculum can be cascaded to a larger number of practitioners through courses, workshops and work in schools.

One-day courses for artists, designers, engineers and other drawers to support professional practice and establish a pool of people to be tutors on the programme and to support Big Draw events.

Lectures and seminars in initial teacher education to encourage student teachers to make greater use of drawing as a medium for learning.

Lectures and seminars at selected conferences to provide opportunities to make connections between theory and practice.


Kew Gardens, 2006	Tate Modern, 2006	The Workhouse (NT), 2005

Programme Leaders

Eileen Adams will lead the programme. Eileen is an educationist and researcher with 37 years' experience of work linking art, design, and environment with education. She joined the Campaign for Drawing in 2001 to develop and run Power Drawing. As an action research programme, Power Drawing developed a range of workshops and courses, and created models for effective training and professional development. Eileen has published eight well-received Power Drawing books. Visit our Power Drawing Publications page for more information and to order these books.

Kirsten Gibbs will manage the new programme. Kirsten is former Deputy Director of Engage, the National Association for Gallery Education. She has initiated and led education programmes at Milton Keynes Gallery and the New Victoria Theatre, and is also a former primary school teacher. She is currently supporting professional development with the Envision and Enquire research projects and is a consultant on two European Commission-funded partnership projects about museums, active citizenship and intercultural dialogue.

Find out more

Power Drawing courses can be individually designed for your group – for example teachers within an individual local authority, a whole-school inset, or educators within a regional museums cluster. Courses for a broader audience will be advertised nationally.

To discuss how a Power Drawing course could support your work, please email Kirsten@campaignfordrawing.org

Power Drawing is supported by Arts Council England, the Esmée Fairbairn Foundation, the Duncan Norman Trust and the Goldsmiths' Company.