Inspire Libraries, Nottinghamshire has received the Community, Participatory and Libraries Award at the annual Big Draw Festival Awards — the third consecutive win for the organisation.

The awards highlight drawing and creativity by presenting seven accolades to organisations, individuals, and schools that showcase the significant impact of drawing as a means of communication, innovation, and inclusivity during the world’s biggest drawing festival.

Inspire delivers public libraries, archives, arts, instrumental music teaching in schools, adult learning, Inspire College Nottinghamshire Music Hub, and the Education Library Service for Nottinghamshire County Council. As an Arts Council England National Portfolio Organisation, it also provides a programme for children and young people.

For The Big Draw: Come Back to Colour, Inspire partnered with ABL Health and Arc Partnership on a creative approach that supported the health and wellbeing of children, young people, and families across Nottinghamshire. The theme invited people to rediscover themselves, their health, bodies, and vitality through colour and community.

Inspire worked with internationally-renowned dance artist Takeshi Matsumoto, who designed an energetic and inclusive workshop where 384 pupils from Mansfield primary schools, and local families, created community artwork together.

Through movement, dance, and mark-making, they drew outlines of the human form, which evolved from figurative, to abstract, to imaginative.
Colourful marks and line drawings contributed to a collaborative artwork that went on to tour Inspire libraries.

Every Inspire library in Nottinghamshire joined the collaboration and gave away How To activity sheets so even more families could take part in their library or at home.

Helen Ackroyd, libraries and culture manager at Inspire, said: “We love being part of The Big Draw and using the power of drawing for engagement with groups and families in our library spaces.

“Working with Takeshi was a masterclass in the use of whole-body movement in collaboration and inclusivity to generate artworks that radiated happiness.

“We thank our partners at Arc Partnership and ABL Health for their collaboration and continued support of Inspire.”