FAMILIES can pencil in their vision of the future of York in an imaginative event at York Art Gallery this week.

The gallery is devoting the half-term holiday week to its Big Draw - and will be using the future of York as its theme.

The event, organised by the Campaign for Drawing and part of the Without Walls initiative, will invite visitors to use pens and paint, collage and charcoal, to put down how they think York will look in 20 years time.

Rolls of newspaper, donated by the Evening Press, will allow visitors drawings of futuristic buildings, transport and even the gallery, to be mounted around the gallery walls.

The project is also supported by the Young Arts branch of the National Association of Decorative and Fine Arts Societies.

The Big Draw will form part of the Without Walls consultation towards a new vision for York and key people who have taken part in the consultations on the city's future will be invited to come and have a draw tomorrow and look at the ideas which have been collected throughout the week.

Janet Barnes, Chief Executive of York Museums Trust, said: "The Campaign for Drawing has been a huge success and we hope to build on this in York this year. We are delighted to take our theme from the Without Walls partnership, involving lots of people within the city in creating a vision for the future."

The Big Draw runs until Sunday with free sessions from 11am until 1pm and from 2pm until 4.30pm, every day.

Admission to the gallery, in Exhibition Square, is free. For more details and information about other half-term activities at York Museums Trust's attractions, phone 01904 687687.

Updated: 08:32 Wednesday, October 29, 2003