Artists Unite to Support the Drawing Biennial 2026
The Drawing Biennial 2026 returns with more than 250 newly commissioned drawings by leading international artists. The free exhibition at Drawing Room culminates in a two-week online auction, 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 250 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.”
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, Sin Wai Kin, 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, 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.
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.
Full details: https://drawingroom.org.uk/
