13-year old cartoonist Zoom Rockman launches national art project

13-year-old Jewish cartoonist Zoom Rockman kicked off a national environmental arts project entitled ‘Its our World’ on Thursday, leading a live drawing class from Waterloo station.

Rockman, who attends JCoSS in Barnet, was chosen as the Young Ambassador for the exciting new initiative, which invites children aged 4 to 19 to draw, paint or photograph the area where they live. Stephen Fry, Ben Fogle and Kevin McCloud are among the many famous names backing the project.

Coinciding with World Environment Day, the launch saw Rockman instruct onlookers to draw the iconic Waterloo skyline, as a view of the river and buildings was projected onto a giant screen. Rockman’s finished drawing was then displayed on the screen, the largest of its kind in Europe.

The aim of the project is to create the UK’s largest online collection of artwork mapping the British Isles, while getting young people thinking about their local environment. The artwork will be showcased in June 2015 on giant digital advertising screens across the UK.

Rockman began producing his own biannual comic, The Zoom! aged 8, and has gone on to win the Spirit of London award, meet David Cameron and win a prize for Britain at the Bucheon International Comics Festival in South Korea. Last year Rockman was named as one of the “brightest young talents” in London, as part of the Evening Standard‘s list of the hottest 25 under-25s in the capital.

Talking about the project, the young artist said, ‘My view of the world is busy traffic and people on the street. It’s the local kebab shop, Rajco the newsagent, George’s Fish ‘n’ Chip Shop, London buses and skanky pigeons!’

Rockman lives with his parents, two furniture designers, in Hornsey.

For further information and to register see www.itisourworld.org