Project: A Year of Drawing Together

Description

A Year of Drawing Together – Exhibition at the Create Centre, Bristol from 27th April to 2nd May 2026

Drawing is a strong element of my artistic practice.

From February 2025 to February 2026, – alongside my two brothers, Mark and Tom Espiner — I committed to drawing every day for a year. We took on a social media challenge: one drawing a day, posted on Instagram. We shared every drawing on a Signal chat and met regularly online to reflect, encourage each other and keep the daily rhythm alive.

Two of us posted publicly every day. That exposure was its own discipline and pressure – it made us create drawings we felt OK about, and shaped the work in ways we’re still noticing. Tom drew consistently, but kept his work off social media — a different relationship to the practice.

Alongside everything, we worked through ‘Drawing on the Right Side of the Brain’ by Betty Edwards together via a series of Zoom online sessions, reading, drawing and reflecting.

A Year of Drawing Together was an exhibition of what that year made – a record of 365 days of looking, making and connecting.

We’re still working out what we learned. This sharing event/exhibition was an important part of that.

About the exhibition

The drawings were displayed chronologically, in columns of each person — Joanna on the left, Mark and Tom to the right — unfolding through the space day by day, from February 2025 to February 2026.  The exhibition was held in the main gallery at the Create Centre, Smeaton Road, Bristol BS1 6XN from 27/4/26 – 2/5/26.

As part of the display, at the Create Centre,  some of the original drawings were displayed in the space, offering a closer look within the full sweep of the year.

On the table in the centre of the space were some bound volumes of all the drawings, which visitors were welcome to sit with and browse.

A projector showed a slideshow of all three sets of drawings moving through the year together, day by day.

On another wall in the space were displayed print-outs from our daily Signal chat — showing the conversation that kept us going.

Hiring the Exhibition

This exhibition is available to hire and can be reduced in size to suit available spaces.  For details of costs and bookings, please contact me directly by email.