Harry Hill has been announced as the artist to present the next theme for DRAW!, a nation-wide drawing project presented by Bradford 2025 UK City of Culture and inspired and supported by?Bradford-born artist David Hockney.
The legendary comedian and artist has chosen ‘A Typical Sunday Morning’ as a theme for people to draw throughout the month of June. Released today his surreal and playful illustration gives his own imaginative and humorous take on the theme showing him seemingly being chased by his cat, shared for the first time alongside a draw-along video.
DRAW! invites people from across the UK to take part by creating and sharing drawings inspired by a particular theme set by a different artist each month. It aims to encourage people of all ages to pick up a pencil, pen or iPad and reflect on our everyday lives through drawing.
Similarly, CBBC’s new fun-filled programme Go Get Arty, produced for the BBC by Ranga Bee Productions and featuring an animated paint brush called Bristles voiced by Harry Hill, inspires children and families to get creative. A contemporary twist on a traditional art show, Go Get Arty features real-life arty family the Kwapongs at its heart, and highlights art that’s both accessible and aspirational. It will include challenges for the whole family to take on together and visit artists around the UK to explain how they make their masterpieces, as well as celebrity drawalongs where well-known faces demonstrate how to draw a unique picture for viewers to copy at home.
The public can share their drawings of ‘A Typical Sunday Morning’ by uploading them to bradford2025.co.uk/mydrawing or share them through social media with the hashtag #bradford2025 or by tagging @bradford_2025. A selection of drawings will be displayed on the Bradford 2025 website each month and finally in an exhibition during Bradford 2025 in December. Go Get Arty is released in June 2025 on CBBC and BBC iPlayer.
Bradford 2025 is running drawing workshops for adults and children throughout the year, and involved in the project will be local, national and international artists, graphic designers, illustrators, animators, cartoonists – with a new theme and drawing revealed each month. Previous artists have included: David Hockney, Adébayo Bolaji, Jason Wilsher-Mills, Rose Blake and Dame Zandra Rhodes.
“We’re on a mission to get everyone picking up pencils, crayons, felt-tip pens… anything and give drawing a go! It doesn’t matter what you draw, or how good you are at it, as long as you do draw. In fact, the worse you are, the more fun it is! We want to remind everyone that art isn’t just for art galleries— it’s for anyone with a scrap of paper and a bit of imagination.”
Harry Hill
Harry Hill has been one of the UK’s most respected and inventive entertainers for nearly thirty years. As an artist, Harry Hill has had multiple works selected for the prestigious Royal Academy of Arts’ Summer Exhibition, including a 2015 portrait of his artistic hero, the ‘rockstar of art’ Damien Hirst, a series of sculptures in 2021, and Celine’s House – an oil painting based on an aerial view of Celine Dion’s home – which featured in 2024 and sold for £1,200. His distinctive visual style is surreal, witty, and rich in personal storytelling – qualities that echo the absurdist humour of his comedy and run through all of his creative work.
This collaboration is the latest between Bradford 2025 and its broadcast partner the BBC, who have commissioned a raft of new content across arts, education, and factual for the city’s momentous year.
bradford2025.co.uk/event/draw/
Bradford 2025 UK City of Culture is delivered by Bradford Culture Company, a charity supported by public investment from HM Government, Bradford Metropolitan District Council, West Yorkshire Combined Authority and through National Lottery funding from Arts Council England, The National Lottery Heritage Fund, The National Lottery Community Fund, Spirit of 2012, British Film Institute and a number of trusts, foundations and corporate sponsors.
