Drawing Room

General information

Drawing Room explores ideas around contemporary drawing and makes them visible in the public domain. As the only public and non-profit gallery in the UK and Europe dedicated to contemporary drawing, it provides a unique resource for the promotion of drawing, its practice, theory and methodology.

The programme incorporates a wide range of ideas and media, from the traditional to the experimental, and is informed by contemporary artistic practice. It supports the production of new work and acts as a catalyst to test the parameters of drawing, providing opportunities for artists, writers and curators to produce, examine and research contemporary drawing.

Drawing Room is located in south east London in premises shared with its umbrella organisation, Tannery Arts, since 2003. A studio organisation established in 1993, Tannery Arts is dedicated to supporting the professional development of emerging and established artists.

Drawing Room was initiated by curators Mary Doyle, Kate Macfarlane and Katharine Stout to provide the major European resource for contemporary drawing. It has delivered an ambitious international programme of solo and group exhibitions that have included established, emerging and historical artists. Many of these exhibitions have toured to galleries and museums throughout the UK and beyond. Their scope, interpretation and dissemination have been broadened through partnerships with individuals and institutions that have generated publications, a programme of in-conversations and symposia and learning projects.