Top Draw at Grimsby central Library
From Saturday 25th August, Grimsby Library foyer space will be showcasing a portable exhibition by the Grimsby based artist collective Top Draw.
In a first for the library, digital artworks will be on the tourist information LCD TV screen in the main lending library on the ground floor, with an exclusive introduction to the artists and their respective practices shown in the main foyer area.
Formed in 2009 the Top Draw collective specialise in drawing. The eight artists meet weekly within the local community with the support of Care4all’s Disability Services.
The exhibition features award winning depictions of Humber Bank factories, factual and fictional accounts of the Titanic story, confident ink drawings of vehicles, birds and buildings and charming figurative paintings to name just a few.
The members have recently moved from St Hugh’s Community Centre to their current workspace at Freeman Street Resource Centre, where they attend their sessions on Mondays facilitated by Community Access Worker and artist Marc Renshaw.
‘I like the fact that the group is directed by each individual’s particular interests. They bring in their projects and work independently. I think that the key to the success of the group is an informal social setting where each person can do as much or as little as they want in a relaxed and sociable environment. During an ‘Artist of The Week’ slot at the end of each session, the artists give each other positive critical feedback’.
The library show ties in with the official launch of the group’s new website (www.topdraw.yolasite.com) with a page for the eight artists and a section devoted to associate members.
Top Draw member Richard Bessey said: ‘We all work as a team and we would like to take our show on tour’.
Craig Clarkson, also part of Top Draw said: ‘I enjoy the group and learning about drawing and painting and making sculpture. We are all great artists’.
The group aim to tour the show and have already provisionally booked future venues St Hugh’s Community Centre and Queen Street Health and Well-being Centre, Grimsby, for their next pop up events; with a view to taking their work further afield.
The show will run at Grimsby Library from Saturday 25th August to Friday 31st August. The show opening times are: Saturday 25th 9am – 4.30pm, Tuesday 28th – Thursday 30th 9am – 6.30pm and Friday 31st 9am – 5.30pm.
