Drawing during poetry readings

In 2018 I got the opportunity to draw during the ‘Outspoken’ poetry evenings at the famous ‘100 Club‘ in London. The venue which has been running since 1942. The intimate venue has a stage that takes up a lot of the space, while many photos of past musicians and talent grace the walls.

‍https://www.outspokenldn.com/live

Hosted by Joelle Taylor, these events are now held at The Purcell Room, in the Southbank Centre. Joelle won the TS Elliott award in 2021 and is often travelling the country undertaking poetry workshops. At Outspoken, talented poets, activists and musicians take to the stage to read their poetry and perform during these events. It is a pleasure to observe, draw and listen to these expressive individuals.

Charcoal seemed to be an appropriate medium for this exercise. Charcoal has a bold, definitive mark that can be seen easily in the low light of an audience space. My drawings of the Outspoken performances often evolved with the words being spoken as part of the piece and charcoal can be smudged like old newspaper print. Perhaps the next drawing session with Outspoken could be to attempt to create an imaginative drawing from the poem being read, creating a live visual of the poem. I have certainly been influenced by the talented South African artist, William Kentridge, who often has phrases within his drawings, and the filmed animations he creates from his smudged, reworked drawings. Kentridge rose to international prominence with his art which has personal and melancholic reflections in the landscape of South Africa, a country undergoing a siesmic shift in political and cultural perspectives, during the dissolution of aparteid. He was kind enough to post to me a VHS video of his 'Drawings for Projection' films, the subject of my university thesis at a time when accessibility to art was limited to art galleries and books rather than today's global internet web.

I also like to draw graffitti. Often I have gone out on one of my drawing excursions, found a spot that has graffiti and drawn it in its surroundings. The next time I have gone past the particular graffiti spot, it has disappeared, painted over with emulsion, or new graffiti is now dominating the position. It is almost like nature, constantly evolving with the seasons. I could make a series, by regularly returning to the same spot. I often get on the train at a Central London station, which leaves at a pace and I stare face to window carriage, trying to observe and appreciate all the graffiti coated along the walls at the edges of the train tracks. If only the trains could be stopped I would love to wander along choosing which parts to stop, sit and draw.