Who are the Urban Sketchers?

Urban Sketchers (USk) is a worldwide community of people who have dedicated themselves to drawing on location. Their aim is to capture urban life in sketches - be it architecture, street scenes, people or everyday situations.

The movement was founded in 2007 by journalist and illustrator Gabriel Campanario and has since spread around the world via social media and local groups. Urban Sketchers usually work with pencil, watercolour or marker and draw directly on location rather than from photos. Their motto is:

‘We show the world, one drawing at a time.’

The sketches are often spontaneous, lively and document the moment. Urban sketching is an opportunity to become more aware of one's own city or other places and to exchange ideas with other artists.

We, the Urban Sketchers Stuttgart, are one of the official, locally organised groups, called chapters, within the worldwide Urban Sketchers (USk) community. These groups follow the principles of Urban Sketchers and organise regular meetings where members draw together on location.