Trinity Buoy Wharf Drawing prize is a beautiful celebration of drawing at Williamson Art Gallery and Museum if for no reason other than its breadth.
A new(ish) addition to the exhibition, touring to the Wirral this year for the first time, is the technical drawing award that, rather than focussing on the reason for technical drawing, offers artists a prompt to explore the method of it.
The offerings in this section might have scientific origins, or architectural nods, but they also consider themes from drawing itself to the insecurities of human thought. They become quite narrative because of that and, for viewers, perhaps give more of a guide in how to receive the work than some more traditional fine art drawing techniques around the gallery.
Curtis Holder, who also supported Drawing (Paper) Show 2025’s exhibition at Bridewell as one of their judges, is one of the first artists you encounter in this display. Art in Liverpool were involved in the Drawing (Paper) Show this year, so you’ll not find our reflections on it published, but it was an outstanding exhibition, with the same focus as this prize exhibition, but with a very different presentation.
At Bridewell, The Drawing (Paper) Show was an eclectic celebration of drawing for drawing’s sake. This isn’t. This is an attempt to contextualize drawing. In some ways its more useful because of that, but its maybe less of an accurate representation of drawing now for the same reason.
I also want to reflect on what this prize means at the Williamson, a gallery with a long history of award exhibitions, society shows and opens.
In the opposite rooms, there is the Williamson Open; Merseyside’s largest annual open exhibition and, I think, its longest running. The quality of work in both is inseparable and on paper, the two shows come from the same sort of intention. Seeing them together is refreshing though, because it offers context to the artists in the open, that progression to national awards is just a stone’s throw away. For those artists who submit to open exhibitions routinely but are yet to really define themselves as artists, this touring national exhibition has the same entry criteria.
In both shows, there are domestic landscapes, contemporary interpretations on identity, and explorations of pop culture. In both, there are long-established artists exhibiting alongside recent graduates or emerging talent.
But aside from that digression, Trinity Bouy Wharf’s drawing prize is a fascinating exploration of all forms of mark marking, including moving image. It is kind of an assertion of the value of drawing in that way; this is what drawing can do; this is where you find it in every day life. It is foundational to all creativity, and it is incredibly clear to see in this eclectic exhibition.
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The exhibition is open until 31st January 2026
Words, Patrick Kirk-Smith