How the Drawing Year shapes practice
In these films, seven alumni from the Drawing Year 2025 cohort reflect on how an intensive year of drawing has shaped their practice. Working across painting, printmaking, sculpture and mixed media, they speak about drawing every day, building confidence, taking risks and finding new ways of working. From observational drawing on site to experimenting in the studio, their experiences show how the programme has shifted not just what they make, but how they approach their work more broadly.
Adebola Bolarinwa
"I like to think I've become a better painter and that has been through drawing, especially from observation."
Arun Dodds
“I like to look at the absurdity within life and try to turn a mundane thought into something absurd. There’s a randomness in drawing, just like there’s randomness in daily life.”
Isla Jones
“After doing the Drawing Year...there’s a freedom that I never had before. I think because of the continued drawing every single day, it’s made a massive difference to my work.”
Joe Allen
“What I’ve got from this year is more self-trust and more confidence in what I’m doing, and in what I’m making.”
Niki Tse
“I feel more certain about the direction I want my work to go in, and the things I’m interested in. I think that’s come from the year of drawing.”
Sasha Alfillé
“With the Drawing School, I’ve been really encouraged to play, so I think my practice has become more playful and more my own.”