Hello world! Hello sketchers!
If you haven’t done so already, it’s time to start thinking about Urban Sketchers Symposium Amsterdam 2019. The call for instructors is now closed, and while for many of us that may not mean very much, we can certainly plan (or think about) attending.
My first Urban Sketchers Symposium sketch ever!
Porto was my first Symposium. I went by myself, no other travel plans, nervous, and totally unsure if I made the right decision to go to a place I had never been to before. I’m not an active member of the local Urban Sketchers chapter either, and wasn’t sure if my sketches were ‘good enough’. Also, there’s also the feeling really socially awkward thing.
But finally having gone to the annual Urban Sketchers pilgrimage, I have to say, none of this should stop you if you’re interested. It was really awesome!
Here are some Pre-Symposium things to consider, step-by-step:
- Decide on the type of pass you want
You really can’t lose – either the option of taking as many workshops as possible ($$$), 50/50 in workshops & sketch walks ($$) or no workshops and all sketch walks ($). Sketch walks are designated areas of interest in the city, where you & fellow sketchers as a group go to explore and sketch their surroundings.
I was a Workshop Pass holder, which has its own pros and cons. More details on this to come…
For my first Symposium, I wanted to get the Workshop Pass to experience as many workshops as possible.
- Buy your Symposium tickets EARLY
Better yet, set alarm(s) for the time/date it gets released. I’m not sure if this was from an official communication, but I was made aware that the Workshop Passes sell out within 15-20 minutes of release. I set an alarm and made sure I had good internet access.
Making sure you pre-register on the ticketing platform – EventBrite – to cut down on the time that asks for personal info & payment helps, too. Be logged in and ready to go!
If you are not available though, or can’t be certain you are going, the organizers maintain an efficient waitlist.
Also, I found this out later, but the workshops AREN’T released at this point – so you just have to buy the ticket and come back later to make your workshop choices.
Urban Sketchers Symposium Porto 2018 Schedule via official website.
- Choose your workshops
Keep your eyes peeled for the second round of notification regarding workshop choices. It is essentially a menu of available workshops per workshop slot. NOTE: instructors are NOT teaching at all times.
For instance, in Porto, there were 4 workshop slots, but an instructor would be teaching at 3 workshops. Plan around this if you need to, especially if you planned on learning from your sketching hero live!
Sketching during the first Sketch Walk! Image taken by Heekyung Hur (my first new Symposium friend, but more importantly, a talented Illustrator), and Porto logo credit to Isa Silva.
I chose my workshops based on the following: there were instructors I really really really wanted to meet & learn from in-person. I also wanted a variety of subjects and techniques. I picked – Jim Richards, Simone Ridyard, Eduardo Bajzek, and Paul Wang.
I have been a long-standing admirer of their works and they also covered very different topics. Jim’s focused on discovering a sense of place in different locales & cities; Simone – compositional techniques in her signature style of pen and one/two watercolour washes; Eduardo – capturing a scene and its atmosphere using graphite; Paul – windows, lights, and peering into openings in deconstructed & loose watercolour methods.
Thank you for visiting! Stay tuned for Part 2!
Will you attend the next Urban Sketchers Symposium? Why or why not?
This is a great post, Jessica! Thanks for putting it together!
Thank you so much for taking a look, Jim. Much appreciated!
Very informative post, Jessica! I had very similar experience too with the registration for the pass (and for the workshop selection at a later date) and it sold out uber fast! Porto was my 1st USK symposium too and I signed for the 4-workshop pass. It was very educational and I was quite exhausted at the end of the week.
Thank you for your comment! Glad to hear this echoed your experiences of attending the Symposium for the first time as well. Thanks again for reading and sharing your thoughts.
Thanks for your post. Inspiring and helpful, and I do hope to attend the symposium in Amsterdam. If childcare comes together, I will absolutely be there.
What a kind comment – thank you!! And thanks for reading the post. Hope everything works out for all of us!
Found your blog post while researching the 2019 symposium. This was very informative. I appreciate the info!
Thanks for your comment, David! Glad to hear you found it useful!
This is very helpful❤️ Thank you! I have a question : how did you book hotels & flights? Do I just book around the sletchwalk areas? Any tips? Thank you in advance!
Great question! I booked the accommodation after booking my flights, based on the organizer’s recommendations. They sent out a PDF with lots of options. As for the flights, I had to work out how many days I would be able to spend there given my other commitments, but managed to book it pretty early on also in April. Hope this helps!
Just wanted to add, maybe there’s a way to find out, but I didn’t know where the Sketch Walks were or the workshop locations were until I got to Porto. However, the organizers disclose the ‘hub’ i.e. Symposium main venue location, so it helped to book accommodation nearby.
Thank you for the detailed response. It is very helpful for me to prepare for the symposium!
Great post, Jessica! Very informative. Thanks for putting this together!
Thank you for your kind words, Silvana. Glad to hear it was helpful!