Open City Sketching Competition

Open City are delighted to launch a sketching competition in partnership with Southwark Council for 16 to 18 year olds.

Competition winners will be awarded art and model making materials of their choice up to the value of £50.

The competition is completely free to enter so get your best drawing tools out and embrace a new challenge to help you to get through the last weeks of lockdown.

Competition brief 

Ever since the Romans settled in ‘Londinium’ the River Thames which separates Southwark from the City of London has been alive with activity. Imagine all the things that have happened on this stretch of water throughout history and think of all the things that will happen there in the future.

For this competition, you will need 1 piece of paper + 3 coloured pens / pencils / inks or whatever you like to draw with.

• Step 1
  If you can, go to the Thames and make a sketch by carefully looking and drawing what you see. If you can’t, imagine what is happening on the Thames and draw it. Tip: start with a pale colour.

• Step 2
  Using a different colour, add to the drawing with something from history. You might choose to draw something from the medieval era, the 1951 Festival of Britain, or any other time in history.

• Step 3
  Using a third colour, add to your drawing with something from the future. This could be next year, in 1000 years times, or any point in between !

• Step 4
  Scan your drawing or take a photo and send it to accelerate@open-city.org.uk with your name and age.

Deadline: 09 April 2021

Competition judges: Nana Biamah-Ofosu (Karakusevic Carson Architects), Phineas Harper (Open City), Farshid Moussavi (Harvard GSD, FMA), Cllr Leo Pollak (Southwark Council)