ANONYMOUS DRAWINGS
How are our judgements about art affected by our knowledge of the artist’s name and background? How is the value of a drawing determined? Where is the boundary between art and non-art?
ANONYMOUS DRAWINGS is an international exhibition project that explores these questions in practice. Around 700 drawings by 700 international artists are presented together with no mention of authorship or title. The works are offered for sale at a symbolic uniform price of €250. €200 of this goes directly to the artists, while the remainder is used to fund future open calls and exhibitions.
Anonymity is maintained only until a work is sold: when this happens, it is immediately removed from the wall, and the name and place of origin of the respective artist are written in the resulting empty space. The uniform price does not represent a real market value, but functions as a conceptual placeholder for any conceivable sale price on the art market. It symbolizes the idea that art can exist beyond economic hierarchies.
Over the course of the exhibition, the overall display changes: sold works disappear, and the names and origins of the artists whose works have been sold fill the emerging gaps. In this way, the exhibition itself becomes a processual, transforming artwork.
Each exhibition is preceded by an International Open Call for Submissions. There are no thematic requirements, only a formal limit of A3 size. Biographical information is deliberately not requested; selection is made anonymously based on digital image files. Only after selection do the artists send their originals to Berlin. Everyone is eligible, the participation is free of charge.
In parallel with the exhibitions, the ANONYMOUS DRAWINGS ARCHIVE came into being. All works in the archive are donations from artists supporting the project. The archive, now containing over 1,500 works, is used in traveling exhibitions and can also be purchased online HERE. With each new exhibition and each sale, the archive evolves – a living network of contemporary drawing.
ANONYMOUS DRAWINGS is both a conceptual art project and an exhibition platform – a collective artwork without hierarchies that rethinks the boundaries between art, the market, and the public.
The project was founded in 2006 by Berlin-based artist ANKE BECKER. What began as an independent idea has over the years become a permanent institution in the Berlin art scene – open, international, and constantly evolving.
The next call for participation will be in 2026.
Those who are interested can sign up for our MAILING LIST.