North Yorkshire residents are being invited to imagine inventions of the future inspired by the past in North Yorkshire County Record Office’s event as part of the STEAM Powered Big Draw Festival 2016 in October.
The record office was involved in the Big Draw for the first time last year and was surprised and delighted when its Every Map Tells a Story event won the Community Participatory and Libraries Award.
This year, the record office will host Invented in Yorkshire, inviting people to join staff to draw inventions for the future inspired by inventions from the past. Taking inspiration from plans, drawings, calculations and sketch books from the archives of North Yorkshire, visitors will be able to draw, alongside professional engineers and artists, all kinds of fantasy houses, towering bridges, flying machines and seafaring vessels. In fact, whatever captures their imaginations.
The free event will take place on Thursday, 13 October. People of any age and all abilities can drop in to the Record Office on Malpas Road, Northallerton, at any time between 4pm and 8pm to draw their inventions. Drawing materials and refreshments will be provided.
These drawings will be made into mono prints and bound to make a unique book of futuristic inventions that will be on display in the record office foyer. Also exhibited will be original archive material from each of the STEAM disciplines. The STEAM Powered Big Draw Festival brings together Science, Technology, Art, Engineering and Maths and represents a campaign to give the arts parity with other STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Maths) subjects. It also recalls our industrial past and the fusion of innovation, enterprise and the arts.
North Yorkshire County Councillor Chris Metcalfe, Executive Member for Library and Information Services, said: “Following the success of last year’s award-winning event, this year’s Big Draw STEAM Powered event will be a great way to promote drawing and inspire budding architects, scientists, engineers and artists to draw futuristic inventions using North Yorkshire’s industrial and creative past as inspiration.”
Kate Mason, director of the Big Draw, said: “The Big Draw Festival is for anyone who loves to draw, as well as for those who think they can’t. Whether organising or participating in a Big Draw Festival event, it is an opportunity to join a global community in celebration of the universal language of drawing.”
Last year, events took place on seven continents and involved 400,000 people. This year is expected to be even bigger. Find out more about the festival and Invented in Yorkshire at www.thebigdraw.org/event/Invented_in_Yorkshire/6877