Drawing Session with Curtis Holder, drawing Tajorn

Join us for this Drawing Session with Curtis Holder and draw Tajorn at Trinity Buoy Wharf on Friday 10 October at 5pm. This drawing session takes place in the setting of the Trinity Buoy Wharf Drawing Prize 2025 exhibition where Curtis' drawing, Echoes of Eshu II, 2024, is on display.

Part of the Daily Drawing Programme for the Trinity Buoy Wharf Drawing Prize 2025 exhibition, this drawing session will enable you to explore Curtis' approach to drawing and working methods and to draw a portrait focussed on movement in time and space with the model for this special drawing session, Tajorn.

"Drawing has always been my way of mapping the emotional landscape between myself and my subjects. It is a process shaped by presence, memory, and ongoing dialogue. Echoes of Eshu II came from experimenting with a new durational approach to portraiture, an extended collaboration with dancer and creative, DMAC. Over several months of shared time, conversation and trust, we produced a series of works that deepened my exploration of drawing as an act of co-creation. This second drawing in the series shows DMAC mid-undress, his upper torso exposed as he pulls off his shirt, with layered echoes of his body starting to unbuckle his jeans. It embodies conversations we had about revealing yourself as a Black gay man and navigating the complex realities of colourism, masculinity, and the impulse to suppress femininity. The drawing is created through repeated observation and intuitive mark-making, capturing not only DMAC’s form and movement but also the emotional tension beneath. While part of a larger sequence, Echoes of Eshu II stands alone as a moment of transition, a visual record of DMAC beginning to strip back layers of identity and of me learning to see him with care and respect."

Curtis Holder (b.1968 Leicester, UK) studied BA (Hons) Graphic Design at Kingston University (1988–91) and PGDip Character Animation at Central Saint Martin’s, UAL (2004–05). Solo exhibitions include: Portraits of Brotherhood, RBSA Gallery, Birmingham (2025); Silent Echoes, Spoken Truths, Leeds Art Gallery (2024–25); Curtis Holder: Drawing Carlos Acosta, Birmingham Museum & Art Gallery (2024–25); Portraits of Brotherhood, Guildford House Gallery, Guildford (2024); The Makers: Portraits from Backstage, National Theatre, London (2023). Group exhibitions include: Seeing Each Other: Portraits of Artists, Pallant House Gallery, Chichester (2025); Drawing (Paper) Show, Bridewell Studios & Gallery, Liverpool (2025, 2023); Fragile, The Bomb Factory Art Foundation, London (2024); Trinity Buoy Wharf Drawing Prize 2022, London & UK Tour (2022-23). Recent awards include: Yaddo residency, Saratoga Springs, NY, USA (2025); John Ruskin Prize (2024); President’s Award, Society of Graphic Fine Art (2024); The Tom Coates Memorial Prize, The Pastel Society (2024); Guildford House Open (2023); Sky Arts Portrait Artist of the Year (2020). He lives and works in London in the UK.

Tajorn is a model, actor, and life model based in London.

Please bring pencils, sketchbooks and paper to this practical Drawing Session. The Drawing Session will take place in the exhibition in the Buoy Store at Trinity Buoy Wharf.

The session is suitable for participants of 16+, but a parent or guardian is required to accompany those under 18.

#TBWDP25 #DailyDrawing

Image: Curtis Holder, courtesy of the artist; Echoes of Eshu II, 2024, coloured pencil on paper, 150 x 121cm, photo: Colin Mills, TBWDP