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Drawing Biennial 2026

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Free Exhibition: 16 April – 23 June 2026 | Wed–Sun, 12–6pm

Online Auction: Opens 9 June, 12 midday | Closes 23 June, 9pm (GMT+1)

Drawing Biennial 2026 returns with more than 300 new and original drawings by leading international artists. The free exhibition at Drawing Room culminates in a two-week online auction fundraiser, with bidding starting at £400.

As Drawing Room prepares to mark its 25th anniversary in 2027, this twelfth edition of the Drawing Biennial brings together artists working at the forefront of contemporary practice, reaffirming drawing as a vital and enduring discipline.

Selected by a committee of Drawing Room’s Co-founders and Directors alongside invited curators and collectors, participating artists respond to themes spanning ecology, identity, spirituality, politics and imagined worlds. Each artist is invited to produce a new drawing on A4 paper, using any medium.

Mary Doyle and Kate Macfarlane, Co-founders and Directors, said: “This collective donation of more than 300 drawings is a powerful endorsement of Drawing Room’s role at the forefront of contemporary drawing. The Drawing Biennial, and our wider programme, is made possible by the sustained commitment of artists and the collectors who back them.”

Eileen Cooper RA, contributing artist, said: ‘Drawing is central to my practice, which is why I’m so delighted to be in [Drawing Biennial 2026].’ 

Drawing Biennial 2026 includes artworks by: Pio Abad, Bunmi Agusto,  Suleman Aqeel Khilji, David Austen, Charles Avery, Rana Begum, Huma Bhabha, Frank Bowling, Nicholas Byrne, Victoria Cantons, Lubna Chowdhary, Eileen Cooper, Michael Craig-Martin, Richard Deacon, Charlotte Edey, Mona Hatoum, Donna Huddleston, Gary Hume, Chantal Joffe, Jasleen Kaur, William Kentridge, Ragnar Kjartansson, Matthew Krishanu, Michael Landy, Liza Lou, Goshka Macuga, France-Lise McGurn, Lindsey Mendick, Haroon Mirza, Francesca Mollett, Mali Morris, Paul Noble,  David Noonan, Isabel Nolan, Jockum Nordström, Precious Opara, Julian Opie, Hardeep Pandhal, Lydia Pettit, Paloma Proudfoot, Richard Mark Rawlins, Ro Robertson, Tai Shani, George Shaw, Mike Silva, Michael Simpson, Sin Wai Kin, Luc Tuymans, Nicola Tyson, Caroline Walker, Alison Wilding, Georg Wilson, Rose Wylie and many more.

Drawing Room generates 90% of funds required to support its exhibitions, unique drawing research library, learning and outreach activities, with the Drawing Biennial forming a significant part of this total. This year’s Drawing Biennial will support Drawing Room’s 25th anniversary programme in 2027 and upcoming exhibition Listening to the earth, curated by Hammad Nasar, featuring artists from around the globe working with earth as both subject and material.

About Drawing Room  

Drawing Room is the place to discover drawing. Its mission is to champion drawing and its potential to help understand ourselves, each other and the world. Drawing Room was founded by curators Mary Doyle, Kate Macfarlane and Katharine Stout in 2002 and is part of Tannery Arts CIO, a visual arts charity that also provides affordable artist studios. As 90% of its income is self-generated, Drawing Room relies on the support of individuals, organisations and trusts, alongside funding received from Arts Council England as a National Portfolio Organisation. It is indebted to the many artists who donate drawings to the Drawing Biennial fundraising exhibitions (twelfth edition in 2026), with over 1,000 works contributed since 2009, and to the Director’s Circle, Drawing Patrons, and Drawing Friends supporters.

 

 

Listings details   

  • Drawing Biennial 2026, Drawing Room, 1b New Tannery Way, Bermondsey, SE1 5WS
  • Free Exhibition 16 April 2026 – 23 June 2026, Wed–Sun 12–6pm
  • Online auction opens noon, 9 June; auction ends 9pm, 23 June
  • Late openings on Thursday 18 June and Tuesday 23 June, 6-9pm
  • drawingroom.org.uk / Instagram @drawingroomlondon

 

Further press information & high-res images: 

George Bray, [email protected]  | Ruth Pilston, [email protected]

Installation view of Drawing Biennial 2024. Photo by Ben Peter Catchpole.