Art Awareness Days: Every Art and Creativity Day of the Year

Written by Paul Worrall

There’s a day (or a whole month) for almost every corner of the art world: pencils, crayons, fountain pens, watercolour, cartoons, origami, calligraphy and more. Some are serious, official observances backed by UNESCO and the United Nations. Some started as a blog post or a single artist’s idea and grew into worldwide movements. And some are fun, unofficial American “national days” that artists everywhere have adopted anyway. This guide goes through the art and creativity days of the year, season by season, explaining where each one came from, what happens around the world and how you can join in, wherever you are in the UK.

Dates that move each year (like “the first Friday of November”) are explained as rules, so this guide works year after year. Where a day is an unofficial or US-origin observance, I’ve said so, so you know exactly what you’re celebrating.

Art Awareness Days at a Glance

Winter Art Days

Art’s Birthday: 17 January

This is one of the most charming days in the art calendar. On 17 January 1963, the French Fluxus artist Robert Filliou declared that art had been born exactly one million years earlier, on the day someone dropped a dry sponge into a bucket of water. Filliou’s idea sounds a bit wierd, but it had a serious point: art is part of everyday life, and it belongs to everybody. Ten years later he marked art’s “1,000,010th birthday” with a celebration at the Neue Galerie in Aachen, Germany.

Today Art’s Birthday is celebrated every year on 17 January by artists, galleries and radio stations around the world, with performances, sound art, parties and events. It’s a highlight of the Ars Acustica group of the European Broadcasting Union, which shares experimental radio and sound art between stations. You don’t need a gallery to join in: make something, however small, and share it. A sponge and a bucket of water are optional.

Pop Art Day: 28 January

Pop Art Day is an unofficial day celebrating the bright, bold movement that turned soup cans, comic strips and celebrities into fine art. It’s a nice one for UK artists to claim, because pop art grew up in Britain as well as America in the 1950s, and the British artist Richard Hamilton is often called the father of British pop art.

It’s a great day for children’s art projects, with bold outlines, flat bright colours and repeating patterns. Paint markers and bright acrylics are perfect, and our guide to the best alcohol markers in the UK covers the markers that give that bold, flat colour.

Inspire Your Heart with Art Day: 31 January

An unofficial American day that’s spread online, Inspire Your Heart with Art Day is all about the effect art has on how we feel. It’s a gentle excuse to visit a gallery, put a favourite print on the wall, or simply spend an hour making something for the joy of it. At the end of a long January, that’s no bad thing.

Floral Design Day: 28 February

Floral Design Day is an unofficial US day celebrating flower arranging and design. For artists, it’s a lovely prompt for botanical painting and drawing. It comes just as the first spring flowers appear in the UK. Pick up some daffodils or tulips and paint them from life in watercolour or coloured pencil.

Spring Art Days

Youth Art Month and National Craft Month: All of March

March is a busy month for creative young people. Youth Art Month began in the United States in 1961, set up by the Crayon, Water Color & Craft Institute (the organisation that later became the Art & Creative Materials Institute) together with the National Art Education Association. Its aim is to show the value of art education for every child, and schools across the US mark it with exhibitions, art shows and displays. March is also National Craft Month in the US, a celebration of making things by hand.

Although both started in America, they’re a perfect excuse for UK schools, home educators and families to put on a display, start a craft project or try a new medium together. Air-drying clay is a brilliant place to start, and it needs no kiln.

National Pencil Day: 30 March

National Pencil Day marks 30 March 1858, the day Hymen Lipman of Philadelphia was granted a patent for a pencil with an eraser attached to the end. It’s an unofficial US day, but pencil lovers everywhere have taken it up, and it’s a good excuse to celebrate one of the simplest, most versatile art tools there is.

Celebrate by trying a new grade, sketching every day for a week, or treating yourself to a good set of drawing pencils. Our guide to the best sketching pencils covers the best options at every budget, from everyday sets to cult favourites.

Drawing pencil sets on Amazon

National Crayon Day: 31 March

The day after Pencil Day belongs to the crayon. National Crayon Day is another unofficial US day, celebrating the wax crayon that started so many of us drawing. Crayola, the most famous crayon brand, began selling crayons in the early 1900s. Its name was coined by Alice Binney, wife of the company’s co-founder, from the French word for chalk, “craie”, and “oleaginous”, meaning oily, after the paraffin wax in the crayons. It’s a perfect day for drawing with children, wax resist painting, or crayon rubbings around the house and garden.

Slow Art Day: Early April

Slow Art Day asks you to do something most gallery visitors never do: slow down. Instead of walking past hundreds of paintings in an afternoon, you look closely at a handful of works, spending five to ten minutes with each, then talk about what you saw with other people. It began with experiments by Phyl Terry in 2008 at The Jewish Museum in New York, followed by the Museum of Modern Art in 2009, and grew into a worldwide event with museums and galleries signing up every year. It’s usually held on a Saturday in early April, and participating venues are listed on the Slow Art Day website, so check for a UK gallery near you.

World Art Day: 15 April

World Art Day is the big one, and it’s official. It was proposed by the International Association of Art and adopted by UNESCO in 2019, and it’s held every year on 15 April, the birthday of Leonardo da Vinci, the ultimate symbol of art, curiosity and creativity. Around the world, galleries, schools, art societies and artists mark it with exhibitions, open studios, workshops and talks.

Celebrate by visiting a gallery, sharing your work online, or joining an event at your local art society. If you’re planning a trip, our city guides to the best art shops in Manchester, Liverpool and Edinburgh make a good day out alongside the galleries.

World Creativity and Innovation Day: 21 April

World Creativity and Innovation Day was founded by Marci Segal in Toronto, Canada, in 2001, and was officially recognised by the United Nations General Assembly in April 2017. It falls on 21 April, the day before Earth Day, to highlight how new thinking and creativity can help solve the world’s problems. It’s not just for artists, as businesses, schools and communities take part too, but it’s a great reminder that creativity is a skill worth practising.

International Sculpture Day: Last Saturday of April

International Sculpture Day was launched by the International Sculpture Center in 2015, when more than 50 events took place in 12 countries. It’s held on the last Saturday of April, with open studios, demonstrations, workshops, public art tours, foundry pours and sculpture trails. In the UK it’s a good excuse to explore public sculpture in your town, or to have a go yourself with air-drying clay, which needs no kiln.

Worldwide Pinhole Photography Day: Last Sunday of April

This one celebrates the simplest camera of all, a light-tight box with a tiny hole instead of a lens. On the last Sunday of April, photographers around the world make a pinhole photograph, using a camera they’ve adapted or one they’ve built themselves from a tin or a shoebox, and share it in an online gallery on the Pinhole Day website. It’s wonderful for children, schools and anyone curious about how photography began.

Cartoonists Day: 5 May

Cartoonists Day honours the people who draw comic strips and cartoons. The date marks 5 May 1895, when The Yellow Kid, created by Richard F. Outcault, first appeared in colour in the New York World newspaper. It’s often described as the start of the modern comic strip. The National Cartoonists Society in the US declared the day in the 1990s. Celebrate by drawing your own comic strip, or reading the cartoonists who made you laugh as a child.

Summer Art Days

Nature Photography Day: 15 June

The North American Nature Photography Association started Nature Photography Day in 2006 to encourage people to get outside, photograph the natural world and see how pictures can help protect it. For artists, it’s also a great way to build up your own reference photos for painting. Our guide to free reference photos for artists has more ideas.

World Tessellation Day: 17 June

Tessellations are repeating shapes that fit together with no gaps, like tiles on a floor or the famous interlocking birds and fish of the Dutch artist M.C. Escher. World Tessellation Day was started by the author Emily Grosvenor in 2016. She chose 17 June because it was both the publication date of her children’s book Tessalation! and Escher’s birthday. It’s a brilliant day for maths and art lessons at school, and for anyone who loves pattern.

World Watercolour Month: All of July

World Watercolour Month was started in July 2016 by Charlie O’Shields, the founder of the Doodlewash blog. It’s a non-profit event that supports arts education. Donations go to The Dreaming Zebra Foundation, which provides art supplies to children who don’t have them. The idea is simple: paint with watercolour during July and share your work online with the hashtag #WorldWatercolorMonth. Some artists take on the challenge of 31 paintings in 31 days, but that’s entirely optional.

If you’re painting along, July is a good time to try a new paper or a new set of paints. Our Arches deals page compares prices on one of the most popular watercolour papers.

Watercolour sets on Amazon

World Calligraphy Day: Mid-August

World Calligraphy Day celebrates the art of beautiful writing, in every script from Western italic and copperplate to Arabic and Chinese calligraphy. Different calendars give different dates, with some listing 14 August and others the second Wednesday of August, so it’s best thought of as a mid-August celebration. Lettering artists mark it by sharing their work and trying new hands, and it’s a lovely day to pick up a dip pen, a brush pen or a calligraphy set for the first time.

World Photography Day: 19 August

On 19 August 1839, the French government announced the daguerreotype, one of the first practical photographic processes, as a gift “free to the world”. Britain was the exception, as a patent had been filed there. The modern World Photography Day was the idea of Indian photographer O.P. Sharma, who spotted the date in history books in 1988 and proposed the celebration to photographers and organisations around the world, including the Royal Photographic Society. It’s been celebrated since 1991.

Autumn Art Days

World Letter Writing Day: 1 September

World Letter Writing Day was created in 2014 by Richard Simpkin, an Australian who had spent years handwriting letters to people he admired. It’s a day to put down the phone and write a proper letter to a friend, a relative or even a stranger. For pen and stationery lovers, it’s the perfect excuse to use a good pen, some nice paper and perhaps a bottle of ink, and to decorate the envelope while you’re at it.

National Doodle Day (UK): Dates Vary

National Doodle Day is a proper British institution, and a great cause. It’s run by the charity Epilepsy Action, and it first began in 2004. Every year, well-known people from art, sport and entertainment create one-off doodles on A5 cards, which are then auctioned on eBay to raise money for people living with epilepsy. Over the years doodlers have included Olivia Colman, Grayson Perry, Joanna Lumley and Mel C, alongside illustrators and independent artists. Epilepsy Action says the most recent campaign raised over £40,000 from 400 original artworks.

The date changes from year to year, so check Epilepsy Action’s website or follow National Doodle Day on Instagram. You can take part by bidding in the auction, buying a raffle ticket or, if you’re an artist or illustrator, asking for a doodle pack and donating a doodle of your own. It’s a lovely way to put your art to good use.

Inktober: All of October

Inktober is the biggest drawing challenge on the internet. It was started in October 2009 by the American artist and illustrator Jake Parker, as a way to improve his own inking skills and build better drawing habits. The idea is simple: make an ink drawing every day in October and share it online with #inktober. Parker later added an official list of 31 one-word prompts, which is released each year on 1 September, and in 2020 he introduced Inktober 52, a weekly version that runs all year.

The official approach is to sketch your idea, ink it with a fineliner, marker or brush pen, add shading or colour in ink, and post it. You don’t have to follow the prompts, and you don’t have to manage all 31 days, as what you acheive matters far less than practising and enjoying it. Thousands of artists take part every year, from complete beginners to professional illustrators.

If you’re planning to join in, a set of fineliners in different sizes and a brush pen are all you need to start. Fountain pens with waterproof ink are great too.

Fineliner sets on Amazon

The Big Draw Festival: October

The Big Draw is the UK’s own drawing festival, and one of the biggest in the world. The first Big Draw took place in October 2000 as a single day of events with 180 partner organisations. It has since grown into a month-long festival every October, with museums, galleries, libraries, schools and community groups running free drawing events across the UK and abroad. By 2011 it had 1,300 partner organisations and more than 260,000 participants, and in 2014 there were 1,800 events. Look out for Big Draw events near you. Many are free and suitable for all ages, and they’re a brilliant way to get children drawing.

World Card Making Day: First Saturday of October

World Card Making Day was started by Paper Crafts magazine, with the first one held on 7 October 2006. What began as a celebration for the magazine’s readers has spread around the world. It falls on the first Saturday of October, which is perfect timing for getting ahead on handmade Christmas cards.

World Origami Days: 24 October to 11 November

World Origami Days run for almost three weeks, from 24 October to 11 November. The start date was proposed by OrigamiUSA in 2005 because 24 October is the birthday of Lillian Oppenheimer (1898 to 1992), who helped found both OrigamiUSA and the British Origami Society. The end date is Origami Day in Japan, 11 November. When Japanese origami artist Makoto Yamaguchi pointed out that Japan already had its own Origami Day, the two dates were joined into one celebration that links paper folders across the world. All you need is a square of paper, so it’s a great one for children and classrooms.

International Artist Day: 25 October

International Artist Day was founded in 2004 by the Canadian artist Chris MacClure, to recognise the contribution artists make to society. It’s held on 25 October, the birthday of Pablo Picasso. Whether you paint for a living or for pleasure, it’s your day. Share your work, support an artist you love by buying a print, or simply give yourself an afternoon to create.

International Animation Day: 28 October

On 28 October 1892, the French inventor Émile Reynaud gave the first public performance of his Théâtre Optique at the Musée Grévin in Paris, projecting moving drawn images for an audience. In 2002, ASIFA, the international animated film association, chose the date to celebrate International Animation Day, and animation groups around the world now hold screenings and events on or around it. It’s a fun day to try a simple flipbook, or to experiment with animation in a free program like Krita.

Fountain Pen Day: First Friday of November

Fountain Pen Day was started in 2012 by Cary Yeager, after he discovered there was a National Ballpoint Day but no day for fountain pens. The first one was held on 2 November 2012. He chose the first Friday of November so people could take their fountain pens to work to show them off, then spend the weekend celebrating with fellow pen fans. Retailers and pen brands around the world now mark it with special editions, offers and events.

Fountain pens aren’t just for writing. They’re brilliant for sketching and urban sketching too, especially with waterproof ink you can paint over with watercolour.

Fountain pens on Amazon

Go to an Art Museum Day: 9 November

An unofficial day with a simple message: go and see some art. With so many UK museums and galleries free to enter, there’s no excuse. It’s a perfect winter afternoon out, and a great way to find inspiration for your own work.

National Illustration Day (UK): Late November

National Illustration Day is run by the Quentin Blake Centre for Illustration, the UK’s only charity dedicated to illustration. In 2025 it was held on 28 November. On the day, people share an illustration they love, one they use often or their own work on social media, using the hashtag and tagging the centre, and schools, libraries and bookshops can download free resources to join in. It’s a lovely way to celebrate the illustrators behind the picture books, posters and packaging we see every day.

Day With(out) Art: 1 December

Day With(out) Art is the most serious day on this list. It was started by Visual AIDS, a New York arts organisation, and the first national Day Without Art was held on 1 December 1989, World AIDS Day, to mourn the many artists lost to AIDS and to raise awareness. Museums closed, covered artworks or went dark. In 1989 the Guggenheim draped its building in a black sash. In 1997 the organisers changed the name to Day With(out) Art, encouraging galleries to put on programmes about AIDS as well as marking the loss. It’s a reminder of the role art plays in remembrance, protest and healing.

How to Make the Most of Art Awareness Days

Use them as prompts. If you ever struggle with what to draw or paint, the art calendar gives you a ready-made list of ideas through the year: a pencil drawing on Pencil Day, a comic strip on Cartoonists Day, a watercolour every day in July.

Join an online challenge. Inktober and World Watercolour Month are the best known, and both are a brilliant way to build a habit and get your work seen.

Get the family involved. Crayon Day, Origami Days, Tessellation Day and The Big Draw are perfect for children, schools and home educators.

Support a good cause. National Doodle Day and World Watercolour Month both raise money for charity, and buying a print from an artist on International Artist Day helps too.

Stock up when the deals land. Retailers often run offers around the bigger days, especially Fountain Pen Day, so keep an eye on our biggest price drops page for the best current deals. If you sell your own work, these days are also a great hook for social media posts, and my guide to Etsy vs Shopify for UK artists covers where to sell it.

Frequently Asked Questions

When is World Art Day? World Art Day is held every year on 15 April, the birthday of Leonardo da Vinci. It was proposed by the International Association of Art and adopted by UNESCO in 2019.

What is Inktober? Inktober is a drawing challenge held every October, started by the artist Jake Parker in 2009. Artists make an ink drawing each day and share it online with #inktober, often using an official list of 31 prompts released on 1 September.

When is Fountain Pen Day? Fountain Pen Day is held on the first Friday of November. It was started by Cary Yeager in 2012.

What is National Doodle Day? National Doodle Day is a UK fundraiser run by the charity Epilepsy Action since 2004. Celebrities and artists create one-off doodles that are auctioned to raise money for people with epilepsy. The date changes each year.

When is National Pencil Day? National Pencil Day is on 30 March, the anniversary of Hymen Lipman’s 1858 patent for a pencil with an attached eraser. It’s an unofficial US day that artists around the world have adopted.

What is The Big Draw? The Big Draw is a UK-based drawing festival held every October, with free drawing events at museums, galleries, libraries and schools across the UK and abroad. The first Big Draw took place in October 2000.

Art awareness days are a lovely way to find new ideas, try new materials and connect with other artists through the year. Whichever days you celebrate, compare prices before you buy your supplies, and if you’d like the best UK art deals as they land, join the newsletter or our Facebook group of 16,000+ UK artists.