The Drawing Room – the only public, non-profit gallery in the UK and Europe dedicated to the investigation and presentation of international contemporary drawing – is set to open a new research centre in October.
Outset Study is a free, open-access research hub comprising a specialist contemporary drawing library and study area. Housed within the gallery’s Bermondsey space, it will also host talks, events and small exhibition displays.
“Outset Study is an essential resource for artists, curators, writers, scholarly researchers, students and exhibition visitors,” says Mary Doyle, co-director of the Drawing Gallery. “The growing collection of approximately 2,000 books, including rare items not held in other major libraries, reflects the interdisciplinary nature of contemporary drawing practice.”
The space, explains Doyle, has been funded by the Outset Contemporary Art Fund, with individual support from Sybil and Matthew Robson Orr and Karen Ruimy. Additional income came from funds raised during the gallery’s 2013 Drawing Biennial. The architectural design is thanks to the support of David Bickle (Partner) and Dean Walker (Architectural Assistant) of Hawkins/Brown Architects.
Outset Study’s general reference collection documents developments in the fine and graphic arts as well as other disciplines in which drawing plays a central role. Resources include artists’ monographs, catalogues of individual and group exhibitions, journals, theory texts, catalogues of private and public collections, and subject bibliographies.
“In addition to the main resources, Outset Study contains three special collections of material not available elsewhere,” says Doyle. “These are the Drawing Room Study Collection, Artists Reading Lists and Rare Resources. Our long-term mission is to provide a space for knowledge exchange and research. It really is the first of its kind in the UK and Europe.”
Outset Study opens on Thursday 17 October, 2013. For more information visit drawingroom.org.uk
