Kew Autumn Festival

For the second time, Kew paired its scientists with artists to devise workshops to engage visitors with scientific research and behind-the-scenes projects.

Nine days of creative activities celebrated Darwin’s 200th anniversary by focusing on Kew’s trees.

Visitors marked out unique root systems with coloured ribbons for Notes from the Underground, contributed to a mini-woodland in Build a Pocket Herbarium, or made a large collaborative mural for Build a Giant Forest.

Viewing specimens under a microscope led to fungi-inspired artwork, while an introduction to scientific methods inspired others to explore and record trees for a collective archive, or to collect rubbings, sketches, seeds and illustrated poems to fill a Cabinet of Curiosities.

Visitors discovered how scientists identify species and family groups of plants when they added their own drawings to The Family Tree, or imagined specimens before comparing their drawing with living examples.

As a result, 2,000 visitors of all ages increased their engagement with the Gardens, Kew staff gained fresh perspectives on their work through the artists’ eyes, and the artists learned about Kew’s research work.

Many hope to extend these partnerships by working together on future science-art projects.

Trailblazers

This award recognises inspirational organisers and institutions that have committed to The Big Draw in the long term, and use it as an experimental platform. They invest energy and imagination into ensuring that the process and results reveal the power of drawing put to excellent use.