Move and Sketch at South London Gallery

Move and Sketch at South London Gallery

Saturday 12 July 2025 | 13:00 - 15:00

Trapped in Zone One are hosting a physical meets creative activity with a walk at South London Gallery exploring and sketching the new immersive sculptural installation by American artist Leonardo Drew.

The aim of our session is to improve confidence in walking on a more regular basis, boost mental wellbeing and give participants safe opportunities for social interaction. By hosting this session will aim to merge creative medium of sketching on the move engaging with participants, who are often inactive, make physical activity part of their daily routine exploring greenspaces in London.

Background to Leonardo Drew: Ubiquity II

Known for his explosive sculptural works, this is Leonardo Drew’s first solo exhibition in a London institution. He creates reflective abstract pieces that play on the tension between order and chaos. Transforming and eroding materials by hand in the studio, he explores the cyclical nature of life and decay.

Drew’s process is meditative and involves repetitive labour to create sculptures and large-scale installations. He says: “My work and my life are not separate. They are the same thing”. “I don’t work with found objects because there is already a history embedded in that material,” he explains. “For me, I need to go through the rigours of touching it, living it, ….become the weather.”

At the gallery, a new site-specific work will cover the walls and floor of the main gallery space. Fragments of wood are distressed, as though they have been through extreme weather events, natural disasters or, in Drew’s words, “acts of God”.

Drew refrains from attaching specific meaning to each work, preferring to title pieces numerically so the viewer can engage directly with the installation and discover a multitude of experiences within it.

About Leonardo Drew

Leonardo Drew’s works have been shown nationally and internationally, and are included in numerous public and private collections. Public institutions include the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York; The Museum of Modern Art, New York; The Museum of Contemporary Art, Los Angeles; The Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden, Washington DC; and Tate, London, among others. Drew also collaborated with Merce Cunningham on the production of “Ground Level Overlay”. New York Times art critic Roberta Smith describes his large reliefs as “pocked, splintered, seemingly burned here, bristling there, unexpectedly delicate elsewhere. An endless catastrophe seen from above. The energies intimated in these works are beyond human control, bigger than all of us”. Drew currently lives and works in Brooklyn, New York and San Antonio, Texas.

ON THE DAY

Please arrive on time at the meeting point area: entrance to South London Gallery (65-67 Peckham Road, SE5 8UH).

If you have any issues on the day, contact 07870 590402.

This workshop will be indoors, but we ask all to dress for the weather.

We ask all attendees to bring their own art material of a sketchbook, pencils, eraser, and sharper as a means of continuing the activity in your time after the session creating your own Move and Sketch plan. If you do require assistance with materials, contact us prior to attending the activity.

Book Now

Please book one time slot per person. Please arrive no more than 15 minutes before your booked slot. These sessions are designed for adults as an introduction to walking and sketching whilst exploring greenspaces in London.

Tickets are donation based (Pay What You Can), if you have difficulties with booking please contact us and we'd be happy to assist and reserve a place for you.

Walk-ins will not be accepted. If you can no longer attend, please cancel your ticket via Eventbrite or please get in touch with us to allow another person(s) a chance to take part.

Donate to Move and Sketch!

Move and Sketch sessions are free and with donation to attend as part of our community initative to help everyone get out, get active and make their lives better. You can now support the our work and make a donation on our website here.

Important Filming and Photography Notice

Please note that filming and photography will be taking place at this event. All imagery and footage may at some point be published on the Trapped in Zone One website, social media channels, and reporting with project funders.

Undecided? Check out some of the feedback from participants from previous workshops:

'It improved my wellbeing, it made me feel happier and calmer. Being outdoors in the sunshine and fresh air, paying attention to my surroundings, being in the moment.'

'This event has enabled me to do more walking than usual. People have been very kind and someone always walked with me even though quite slow. Very grateful to everyone at Trapped in Zone One. Have been to a few events now but originally found whilst scrolling for something to do on eventbrite.'

'My mood is uplifted and feel glad to enjoy afternoon outside.'

'It was fun to sketch and learn about the history. It was really mindful. Learning about the history of Tower Bridge and of course observing the little details and drawing from top of the tower. Also, meeting people and finding these great pockets of communities around London.'

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