Publishing. Drawing. DRA|W Zine #2: Five Years, London UK.

*Five Years Drawing Correspondence Research Group: Carol Mancke, Edward Dorrian, Ilga Leimanis, Jhinuk Sarkar and Sally Morfill
28 Feb–8 March 2026
Open: Saturday-Sunday 2-6pm

http://www.fiveyears.org.uk/archive2/pages/350/FY_DCRG_DRAWZine_2/350.html

We* continued our contribution to DRA|W through an event in the space at Five Years 28 February - 8 March 2026. We took on the editorial role for Issue #2 of the DRA|W Zine and worked, over the two weekends through an open, live exploration of drawing as correspondence, research, and collective practice in preparation for publication.

Just as a reminder, in 2023 Ilga initiated “drawing correspondence” as a collaborative action leading to an exhibition and discursive project at Five Years. What began as an exchange between Five Years’ members expanded into a symposium proposal and publication, opening our drawing correspondence to broader participation. This evolution is an attempt to reframe publishing itself as a form of drawing: an active, performative, and processual practice rather than a fixed outcome.

The drawing correspondence collaboration I initiated a few years ago continues. Thank you to the friends, colleagues and public who came to draw with us. I had a conversation wondering if it’s possible to ‘train’ oneself to develop a practice of just doing (messily, tentatively, awkwardly, and without much thought). Would this ‘practice’ make it easier to overcome difficulties more generally? I’m speaking from my teaching — facilitating access to new spaces, facing uncertainty in making new work, but I think this is a broader ability we can all access. It was a great joy to ‘just do’, and be carried with the momentum generated by the many hands and minds involved.