FROM THE PRESIDENT
T
he year 2020 was a challenge for Urban Sketchers and the entire world. It is daunting to list all the events and upheavals that made this year one of incredible suffering, hardship and confusion. No Symposium, no workshops, no chapter gatherings. The world-wide pandemic struck at the root of what we do and who we are as Urban Sketchers. Despite all this, we prevailed!
4 2020 ANNUAL REPORT
The year began as usual, planning for workshops and activities, organizing social media campaigns, approving new chapters, gathering stories for Drawing Attention and getting ready for the Board’s annual face-to-face meeting. By late February early March, most of this came to a halt as lockdowns began across Asia, Europe, North and South America. On top of all the personal difficulties we faced, there was the concern of how to keep the USk community informed and active, and how to keep urban sketching alive during a global pandemic. There were four big ideas that were conceived by USk members:
1. USk Talks 2. Global Chapter Meetings 3. Drawing Attention and Social Media 4. Reflection and Restructure USk Talks was conceived and developed by the Education Committee as a way to engage Urban Sketchers and keep the community informed and vibrant. A series of talks with well known Urban Sketchers and sketching challenges explored sketching practices during lockdown, ways of viewing the world through your window and a great many topics of interest. The popularity of the program, first through Instagram Live (IGTV) and now through USk YouTube, has given way to a second season and the development of the Reportage Grant Program. The Membership Committee organized a world-wide chapter administrators meeting to see how everyone was doing and to answer any questions skechers had. It was an amazing gathering
