Dr. Sketchy's Anti-Art School is both a burlesquecabaret and life drawing event originating in Williamsburg, Brooklyn, at the Lucky Cat. Dr. Sketchy's was founded in New York City in 2005, by illustrator and former artist's modelMolly Crabapple and illustrator A.V. Phibes who later left to attend to her design studio. Described as a cross between an old-fashioned life-drawing session and a new-wave cabaret, it currently meets monthly at Flute Champagne Bar, an intimate lounge in midtown Manhattan, and formerly a 1920s speakeasy owned by Texas Guinan, where approximately 50 artists, web designers, cartoonists and hipsters pay $12 each to draw a downtown personalities such as alternative model Raquel Reed or performance artist Amber Ray. In a typical sketching session, artists will drink alcohol, sketch burlesque models, and play art games in a bar or venue like an art museum. Crabapple will often travel around the world visiting different Dr. Sketchy's. As of 2009 there are branches of Dr. Sketchy's Anti-Art School all over the world.
The Official Dr. Sketchy's Rainy Day Colouring Book, by Molly Crabapple and John Leavitt, was released by Sepulculture Books in December 2006, and is in its second printing. Other projects include a 2008 pin-up calendar, a series of YouTube comedy shorts, a national tour, an art show, and a 21-show run at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe. In 2010, a short documentary by Peter Bolte was made about Dr. Sketchy. Despite conservatism in continents such as Asia, Dr. Sketchy's appears to be widely accepted in Tokyo, Singapore and the Philippines. The Singapore branch is headlined by Becca D'Bus. The Philippine branch is one of Crabapple's favorite new branches.
Dr. Sketchy Branches
Dr Sketchy started in NYC, and now has branches around the world. As of 2019 there are over 100 branches. •UNITED STATES Dr. Sketchy's Akron Dr. Sketchy's Asbury Park Dr. Sketchy's Asheville Dr. Sketchy's Austin Dr. Sketchy's Baltimore Dr. Sketchy's Boston Dr. Sketchy's Boulder City NV Dr. Sketchy's Burlington Dr. Sketchy's Cape Cod Dr. Sketchy's Charleston Dr. Sketchy's Columbia Dr. Sketchy's Dayton Dr. Sketchy's Denver Dr. Sketchy's Fort Worth Dr. Sketchy's Grand Rapids Dr. Sketchy's Houston Dr. Sketchy's Indianapolis Dr. Sketchy's Las Vegas Dr. Sketchy's Los Angeles Dr. Sketchy's Middle Georgia Dr. Sketchy's Nashville Dr. Sketchy's New Orleans Dr. Sketchy's New York Dr. Sketchy's North Jersey Dr. Sketchy's Oklahoma City Dr. Sketchy's PDX Dr. Sketchy's Philadelphia Dr. Sketchy's Phoenix Dr. Sketchy's Pittsburgh Dr. Sketchy's Raleigh Dr. Sketchy's Richmond Dr. Sketchy's Sacramento Dr. Sketchy's Saint Louis Dr. Sketchy's San Diego Dr. Sketchy's San Francisco Dr. Sketchy's Seattle Dr. Sketchy's Twin Cities Dr. Sketchy's Washington DC Dr. Sketchy's York, PA Western MA •CANADA Dr. Sketchy's Kamloops Dr. Sketchy's Montreal Dr. Sketchy's Toronto Dr. Sketchy's Vancouver •SOUTH AMERICA Dr. Sketchy's Lima •UNITED KINGDOM Dr. Sketchy's Birmingham Dr. Sketchy's Bristol Dr. Sketchy's Cambridge Dr. Sketchy's Cardiff Dr. Sketchy's Derry Dr. Sketchy's Edinburgh Dr. Sketchy's Glasgow Dr. Sketchy's Leeds Dr. Sketchy's London Dr. Sketchy's Manchester Dr. Sketchy's Norwich Dr. Sketchy's Nottingham Dr. Sketchy's Salisbury Dr. Sketchy's York •EUROPE Dr. Sketchy's Berlin Dr. Sketchy's Bratislava Dr. Sketchy's Brussels Dr. Sketchy's Cologne Dr. Sketchy's Finland Dr. Sketchy's Hamburg Dr. Sketchy's Hanover Dr. Sketchy's Ireland Dr. Sketchy's Lyon Dr. Sketchy's Oslo Dr. Sketchy's Paris Dr. Sketchy's Rome •ASIA Dr. Sketchy's Philippines Dr. Sketchy's Tokyo Dr. Sketchy's Tottori •AUSTRALIA Dr. Sketchy's Brisbane Dr. Sketchy's Darwin Dr. Sketchy's Ipswich Dr. Sketchy's Melbourne Dr. Sketchy's Newcastle Dr. Sketchy's Perth Dr. Sketchy's Sydney •NEW ZEALAND Dr. Sketchy's Auckland Dr. Sketchy's Christchurch •ANTARCTICA Dr. Sketchy's Antarctica
