Urban Sketchers Bogotá held its third exhibition through a competition organized in partnership with the Colombian Society of Architects and the Bogotá Public Space Biennial (BEPBOG) at the beginning of this second half of the year. Building on the momentum of the inaugural BEPBOG, the contest aimed to promote freehand graphic representation of the city's 30 most iconic public spaces.
Project description via Urban Sketchers Bogotá: Carlos Alberto Hernández Acero and Mayerlly Cuta Álvarez have already organized three exhibitions featuring sketchers from across Colombia and other countries. The first was the Urban Sketch Salon, followed by Drawing Salmona, and finally, the Bogotá Public Space Sketch Competition, detailed below.
The idea for a sketch competition emerged in collaboration with the Colombian Society of Architects and the first Bogotá Public Space Biennial. The organizers chose 30 public spaces for participants to draw, including Plaza de Bolívar, Parque de los Periodistas, Monserrate, Plaza del 20 de Julio, Plaza de San Victorino, Parque Nacional, and Parkway de La Soledad, among others. For two months, Urban Sketchers Bogotá hosted drawing sessions at these various public spaces, organizing outings on Saturdays from 2:00 to 4:00 PM and Wednesdays from 5:00 to 7:00 PM to sketch most of the featured sites. This demanding effort proved highly rewarding both for the organizing team and the sketchers who joined them.
Over 120 sketches were received from more than 70 participants, kicking off the curatorial process for the exhibition held at the gallery of the Colombian Society of Architects (Bogotá and Cundinamarca chapter). Ultimately, 87 sketches by 60 sketchers were selected for the competition. Given the outstanding quality of the submissions, the jury awarded three main prizes and 12 honorable mentions.
Exploring Bogotá's public spaces proved deeply enriching. The drawing sessions across the city fostered a sense of ownership and appreciation among the participants for these places, which are central to Bogotá's history.
The exhibition showcased the artistic quality of each work, all created with passion and a deep appreciation for the art of urban sketching.
The event demonstrated that architectural sketching is an artistic medium that deserves to be highlighted and valued through the unique sensitivity of sketchers. These artists passionately dedicate their time to capturing not just a drawing on paper, but a range of emotions, techniques, and experiences that enrich how we perceive the city and its environment.
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1st Place:
This article was written by Santiago Baraya. The translation is powered by AI.
