#DrawTogether

What if we could draw together by drawing together?
Here’s how to do it.

1. Pick a place. Your #DrawTogether event could be at a museum, a park, someone’s house, a library, a community art center, a classroom, a bowling ally, or a gallery—anywhere you can gather with a group of people. Try botanical gardens, sculpture gardens, parks, museums, galleries, campuses, or even local businesses. Chose a spot that helps augment the vibe you want to send. Location serves as your second, silent host. Craft your first impression with care. Consider how that space will be physically embodied by your guests as they enter. Make their first moment better than their normal lives.
2. Create an invitation. An invitation serves as a mini-contract between you, as host, and your recipients that your event will enchant, inform, challenge, delight or inspire. Don’t just send a regular email—try Paperless Post or Eventbright or Mailchimp, or if you dare—send physical mail. Reach out to people whose work you’ve followed, but you don’t know very well. Strive to create a diverse event that engenders inclusion, mutual respect and transformative fun.
3. Plan a picnic. People tend to extend comity and empathy more easily if they share a meal. So plan a meal! Prepare a picnic lunch or dinner to keep costs low. For decor, cover a picnic table with a roll of paper and spread everything out in a decadent, yet artful display.
4. Take the tour. If your event takes place in a gallery or library, arrange for a tour or guided conversation about the work on display. If it takes place in a public space, prepare an art activity that will stimulate conversation, collaboration and community.
5. #DrawTogether. Don’t know what to draw? Try one of these: 10-second portraits. Exquisite Corpse. Storyboard your dreams. Draw your heroes in disguise. Draw what you hear. Draw the rhythm of the architecture of the room. Draw lines that reflect a person’s particular speech prosody. Draw the vibe of classic music at different tempi. Draw a solution to an impossible problem. Draw your biggest fears. Draw your conversation partner’s biggest success (then imagine an even bigger success for them and draw that). Draw your childhood home. Draw the cover art from your pet’s first album. Draw what you’ll pack on your next trip. Draw the tomorrow’s headlines. Draw a fantastical world. Draw your favorite character from your favorite book. Draw your conversation partner’s ears. Draw everything in your bag. Draw for 30 seconds, trade drawings with someone, draw for 30 seconds on the new drawing, trade again. Draw a still life from items within arm’s reach. Interlock arms and draw. Draw blindfolded. Draw with your eyes closed and someone else telling you how to move your hand. Draw with four people on the same paper at the same time. Draw with both hands at once. Draw a conceptual map. Draw what you would build if you could build anything.
6. Play music. Have everyone bring a record and take turns introducing yourself by playing a song and describing how it makes you feel, or tell a story related to the song. Turntables work best, as the physical act of placing a record on the mat and watching it turn adds an element of experiential delight—but phones will do, too.
7. Get out of your chairs and do an improv mind-warm up game (here are a few from Stanford’s dschool to get you started). Get everyone to physically engage in the act of drawing. Stand up. Move around. Don’t just sit there.
8. Post pics and videos using the hashtag #DrawTogether.
9. Send me a note on Twitter.
10. Do it again.

Here’s are a few pics from a few recent #DrawTogether events.

❤

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