Movement Artist Castagna Hosts Drawing Workshop

This spring at the Dorsky Museum, artist and guest curator, ransome, selected a diverse roster of local artists exploring this year’s theme of “Movement” for the 2025 iteration of the Dorsky’s annual Hudson Valley Artists Exhibition. As the second event in the three-month series, visual and movement-based artist Elizabeth Castagna hosted a free movement drawing workshop on March 29, inciting participants to let their bodies guide them through the artistic process and to explore their own energy. 

At the workshop, participants were invited to draw on a large paper taped to the floor, draw on a letter sized paper attached to a clipboard or simply sit back and watch others’ drawings unfold. Before participants began their own pieces, Castagna walked the group through her artistic process, suggesting that they start by looking inwards and asking questions such as if their bodies would like to begin working seated or standing, or whether they wanted to have their eyes open or closed. She also prompted the group to draw their attention to different sensations within their bodies and in the environment, removing the emphasis from their thoughts and instead onto the energies of the worlds within and around them. 

After Castagna’s brief introduction, participants began their pieces while Castagna created her own on a large paper taped to the wall. The sounds of bodies moving and chalk on paper echoed through the room for the ensuing hour, with minimal chatter among participants. Participants were not aiming to draw anything in particular but rather moving in the ways their bodies compelled them to, letting their drawings reflect their decisions. While the final products may appear abstract to an outsider, they tell the story of an aspect of the artist’s life.

“It was an echo,” one participant commented in reference to her piece. “I’m in a particular state of being, so that’s just [how] it came out.” Many shared the sentiment that their pieces served as a reflection of something significant within themselves, and Castagna explained that in completing movement drawings they were allowing the body to speak to them.

“I would love for people to take away that our bodies have a language, and that they talk to us through sensation,” said Castagna. “We tend to rely only on our thinking to figure things out when our body is telling us how we may want to do something. How our bodies will do something is very different than what our thinking will do, and it’s at a very different speed, and it’s really helpful to include the pace of your body.”

While the finished pieces tell one story, many participants also remarked on the powerful experience of movement itself, and the experience of simply watching others move and create. 

“It’s just so magical watching you move,” said one participant. “It was a beautiful dance,” said another. One even said, “I felt like the movements away from the piece were the drawing completing itself.” Overall, the workshop inspired participants to consider their bodies a large part of their process, which is something that is often taken for granted.