GLOBAL CENTRE FOR DRAWING

2025

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The Global Centre for Drawing: Latest News 2025
 

The Global Centre for Drawing welcomes Ms. Rachel Theodorakis to her new position as Executive Assistant to Director Dr Irene Barberis.

• Those who are involved in the Contemporary Australian Drawing Project, which has been exhibited internationally seven times, will be hearing from Rachel in the next short while.

• For any artist who has changed email or phone number since 2018, after Langford 120 Gallery, please get in touch with your current details.

• Artists, please feel free to contact the GCfD regarding and questions you may have.

www.globalcentrfordrawing.com

Founder and Managing Director of the GCfD,  Dr Irene Barberis, has been working across two major projects since 2019.
 

Project One

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The LeWitt Project includes residencies and research in each of Sol LeWitt’s studios in the USA and in Italy. She has exhibited her works and research internationally for this project. Barberis is currently working on three Projects related to her research:

www.thesollewittproject.net   www.irenebarberis.net   www.metasentapublishing.com

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1. The Concentric Influences of Sol LeWitt: Core Artists (Part 1) and The Concentric Influences of Sol LeWitt: Ten Artists (Part 2): Ten Countries. We are working across five countries at present.

2. A new Nano -Particle phosphorescent tapestry suite with drawings and prints, based on Sol LeWitt’s Chester and Italian Studios. She is working with both RMIT University and the University of Dundee, DJCAD, and Drawing Projects, UK and Drawing Projects, Scotland for this project. Irene is an Honorary Research Fellow at the UoD for this Project.

3. A new Drawing Project based on Sol LeWitt’s studios with international collaborators is being developed now.

 

Project Two

 

The Tapestry of Light Project: An interactive PDF with new articulations of Barberis’ 36 x 3.2 mt tapestry artwork of the book of Revelation. She is working with renowned world expert, scholar and author, Emerita Professor Michelle P. Brown on the new publication which will also entail new and unseen video clips. Organized by Australian Photographer Mark Ashkanasy, this project incorporates Drawing/Tapestry/Painting and Installation.

Barberis has been funded for both these projects. www.tapestryoflightproject.com

 

2018
 

Langford120 has hosted a range of Global Centre for Drawing exhibitions in 2018

•  The latest international series of Exhibitions in Passage Gallery: Carole Robb ( NY/Rome Art Program), Sarah Duyshart ( London Royal College of Art), Louise Lee ( The Art School, Hong Kong), Janet Passehl ( LeWitt Collection, USA)

• Global Centre for Drawing Space @ Langford120 November 16 - December 17, '...AND THEN...'  Anita Taylor, Joe Graham, Carole Robb, Christoph Dahlhausen, Louise Lee, Sarah Duyshart, Tony Trehy, Anne Scott Wilson, Tam Wai Ping, Dominique Lammli, Janet Passehl, Irene Barberis...

• New Works/Irene Barberis, 2018:  ...and then...#1, ...and then...#2

2016/17/18

Langford120 has hosted a continuing series of projects and exhibitions from the Global Centre for Drawing;

 GCFD at www.langford120.com.au

2015

• Irene Barberis has been invited to sit on the prestigious Design Council of SACI, New York & Florence.

 

• Drawing Conference: Crossing the Line # 3: Global Drawing: Intersections in Firenze

November 6-7, 2015  at the SACI INSTITUTE, Florence

Via Sant'Egidio, 14, Firenze, Italy
+39 055 240910

 Drawing Symposium (1 day) with Masterclass and open artists lab (2 day)

A one day symposium in tandem with the exhibition Contemporary Australian Drawing #5.
Companion to the exhibition:
"Contemporary Australian Drawing #5 : Facsimilies",  Curator Dr Irene Barberis;

Host Chair: Professor David Davidson Director: SACI Institute, Florence 
International Chair: Dr Irene Barberis
Middle East Chair: Professor Julia Townsend
Chair of Publications: Dr Marcelo Guimarães Lima
Keynote Speaker – Dr Janet McKenzie; International Author, Artist and Historian

Main Partners

•Contemporary Australian Drawing travelling exhibition travelled by The Metasenta Foundation, Australia
•SACI Florence [Host organization]
•Global Centre for Drawing, Dr Irene Barberis, Australia, GCfD Crossing the Line Series of International Drawing Conferences ©]]
•CEPAOS Arts and Culture [Professor Marcelo Guimarães Lima, University of Sao Paulo]
•American University in Dubai [Professor Julia Townsend]
•Sponsors, and in-kind Sponsorship
SACI Institute, Florence,
Global Centre for Drawing,
The Metasenta Foundation, ,
The American University in Dubai,
CEPAOS, Brazil

 

If we were to take a 'global audit' of drawings now from all countries, what would we see?

 

"Crossing Lines: Global Drawing" launches the new world wide Metasenta® Project for young and emerging artists, including work from two curating artists per venue. The first venue for six of the participating art schools/Universities is the SATCHI Institute, in Florence, Italy from the 6th November 2015

 

The Metasenta® Project, A Global Audit : Drawing Everywhere ©, commenced in 2007 in conversations and plans between Professor Stephen Farthing RA, Rootstein Hopkins Chair of Drawing at the University of Arts London, and Dr Irene Barberis of RMIT University, and Founding Director of the Metasenta® International Research Satellite, and the Global Centre for Drawing. An ‘audit’ was made of most Art Schools and Universities in the world, and a list drawn up.  Now seven years later all locations are in the process participate in the Metasenta® Global Drawing Audit, 2015 – 2020 ©’. The first groups are being exhibited at the Satchi Institute, Florence Italy from 6.11.2015 till 22.12.2015 ©

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‘‘Crossing Lines: Global Drawings’, Exhibition #1 A Global Audit: Drawing Everywhere ©’

 

Every day most of us traverse the world via the web. Our lines of demarcation have transformed particularly over the past ten years from domestic inhabitants in real space, to virtual ‘world travellers’; even in the remotest parts of all our countries the mobile phone and internet opens the doors of new realities for us. At some point all our senses have been used for accessing peculiarities of our location, (…light, touch, smell, taste, sound…), but at this time we have an enhanced sensory experience only of the visual and audible, a full experience of virtual reality is still limited. On saying this we are however are able to zoom so far into a site that one can, for instance see the reflection on a dewdrop on a giant lizard’s scale, or zoom out into the cosmos to an array of deep space fields, or even watch the REM movements of the human eye and the burst of neurons in the brain which follows them. We can project our rooms and environment into another’s location, draw in real space or virtual space with the ease and fluidity reserved a couple of years ago to si-fi realities; we cross boundaries. For students and emerging artists informed thinking, process and unlimited possibility of drawing everything everywhere in any context is a reality, only constrained by one’s political and economic conditions.

 

Inaugural participating art schools: RMIT University (Australia), The American University in Dubai (UAE), Sao Paulo University  (Brazil), Satchi Institute (Italy), HKA, HKBU, ( Hong Kong, China). (TBC)

 

Dr Irene Barberis

 

Founder and Director: Metasenta®, Global Centre for Drawing (GCfD)