The City Lit Fine Art course

The City Lit Fine Art (CLFA) course is a 1, 2 or 3-year part-time programme that offers a viable alternative to traditional HE study, in the Centre of London. On the CLFA course, you will explore a range of studio-based media processes, examine new ideas and develop skills in critical and creative thinking that will ultimately enable the development a self-motivated and independent artistic practice.

You can apply to enter Year 1 and progress though the course, or enter Year 2 or Year 3 directly, depending on your previous experience.

The course offers interdisciplinary learning for applicants who have a strong portfolio of artwork and are committed to developing their skills and understanding of contemporary fine art practice.

The CLFA course will enable students to build on previous artistic experience in any media and learn new methods, respond to new contexts, increase professional skills, and develop their creativity towards becoming an artist practitioner.

Created and taught by artists

The CLFA course is developed and taught by practicing and exhibiting artists whose expertise spans sculpture, drawing and painting, to moving image, digital media, print, installation, professional practice, curation and contextual theory.

These different artists share their expertise with students in workshops, seminars and tutorials and external events that support the development of studio skills, contextual and professional understanding, and individual creative directions. 

CLFA is ideal for applicants that have some previous experience in Fine Art, perhaps having sat a series of courses, an Art Foundation, or even a BA, and who want to consolidate their learning and progress to an advanced level of understanding and creativity. We also welcome applicants with a practice in other fields who wish to extend their understanding into the visual arts.

Modes of study

CLFA runs one day a week over three 10-week terms, from October to July 

Year 1 – every Monday (30 sessions)

Year 2 – every Tuesday (30 sessions)

Year 3 – some Saturdays / Sundays (20 sessions)

Sessions are taught in small groups, in spacious art studios in Covent Garden, central London. Basic materials are supplied. Personal study outside of these timetabled days is encouraged throughout.

Applications can be made to enter Year 1 of CLFA and progress though the course, or to enter Year 2 or 3 directly, depending on individual intentions and previous experience.  It is also possible to sit two courses concurrently. 

CLFA applicants are eligible to apply for a bursary, which may cover up to 50% of the course fee for the year.

Year 1 — Studio skills and understanding

The first year of the CLFA course introduces various approaches to drawing, painting, sculpture, print, digital media, and collaborative practice through tutor-led studio activities. Students are encouraged to explore interrelationships between these studio processes and to consider how combining different media can reveal new creative possibilities.

Studio-based creative exercises will be experimental and challenging and are supported by some contextual study and introductory debates around contemporary art practice. Seminars, relevant texts, group discussions, one-to-one tutorials and gallery visits will support all aspects of creative development.

Year 2 — Personal creative project

Year 2 of the CLFA course emphasises self-motivated activity and students will build upon their learning in year 1 (or equivalent experience), to identify and develop a personal project/body of work that can incorporate a range of creative methods and media processes.

Tutorials, group dialogue and engagement with contemporary art exhibitions and supporting texts will help students contextualise their artwork and articulate an understanding of intention and context. Simple creative research methods and self-reflection will enable students to take ownership of their creative direction and ultimately develop self-motivated artworks that are ready for an end of year public exhibition in the City Lit Gallery in Central London.

This second year can be used to support applications to higher education, or students can progress to Year 3 which will support the focussed development of an independent and sustainable creative practice.

Year 3 — Professional creative practice

Year 3 has a professional focus that encourages in-depth dialogue and creative refinement in the studio with an external remit that includes sourcing new opportunities and forging wider working relationships.

Year 3 students will be supported in developing their creative direction, perhaps to re-establish focus on an existing practice, to focus on a body of new artwork, or in support of an application to study at post-graduate level.  

With an emphasis on individual activity and regular points of engagement with CLFA staff, year 3 students will be able to reflect on their creative intentions, refine their studio processes, ideas, and research methods, and ultimately maximise the development of a personal artistic practice that can be sustained beyond the duration of the course.

Combined with an application to the New Contemporaries graduate competition, the final year of CLFA is underpinned with professional practice focussed sessions that can include, making an application for arts funding, organising an exhibition, raising one’s profile, or finding exhibition opportunities. These can be offered in response to the different combinations of interests and requirements that each third-year cohort brings.

Previous CLFA students have progressed to setting up artist collectives and organising their own exhibitions, while others work with public art programmes, have set up their own studios, secured commissions or started to exhibit as independent practicing artists. Each year a proportion of CLFA students go on to study Fine Art at MA, most recently at the RCA, UAL and City and Guilds School of Art. 

Summary

The City Lit Fine Art course is a part-time programme of 1, 2 or 3 years on which you will engage with a range of creative processes and ideas that support self-motivated study in contemporary fine art practice.

CLFA is taught by practicing artists and will enable students to develop and articulate a personal creative practice that can support options for post graduate study or a wide range of independent artistic activities.