Look in depth at four artists a week across a series of themes from body and power to socio-environmental change. What links can be made between artists of the twentieth and twenty-first centuries and where is art heading?
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Contemporary art has explored myriad concepts over the past fifty years including deconstruction, participatory art, and post-conceptualism. The field is more vibrant than ever, with artists working across sculpture, installation, performance, digital media, etc. Furthermore, socially engaged art involves communities in addressing real-world issues through collaborative creative processes. Join us as we explore the 20 essential artists redefining the landscape of contemporary art today.
What will we cover?
• For each artist covered we will look at the trajectory of their practice, key works, and where they sit in the field.
• Key concepts in contemporary art like participatory practice and socially engaged art
• Artistic responses to real-world challenges
What will I achieve? By the end of this course you should be able to...
• List at least a couple of characteristics of each artist’s practice
• Define key concepts in contemporary art
• Discuss how art history has changed over the past fifty years
What level is the course and do I need any particular skills?
This course is suitable for all levels.
You should be able to follow simple written and verbal instructions, demonstrations and hand-outs. You should be willing to read the assigned texts as they will be key to certain aspects of our lectures and discussions.
This is an online course open to all levels. Students should be familiar with or willing to learn to use digital systems to engage with class materials. These systems include Zoom and Google Classroom. If online learning is new to you, please have a look at our City Lit online learning help pages: click here.
How will I be taught, and will there be any work outside the class?
You will be taught by lecture with slide images and you will be invited to participate in group discussion. This course uses a Google Classroom to share supplementary materials. The tutor will post all documents course documents on the Google Classroom. The tutor cannot email documents for various reasons related to copyright and data protection.
Are there any other costs? Is there anything I need to bring?
You might wish to purchase a notebook for taking notes. You might wish to buy some of the books on any reading list provided for future study.
Xinrui Zhang completed her PhD in History of Art at the University of York. She specialises in art and landscape architecture in China from a global perspective, with a focus on the contemporary period. She has taught art history at the Courtauld Institute of Art, SOAS and York. She is an Associate Fellow of the Higher Education Academy. She holds an MA in History of Art from the Courtauld and a BA in History of Art (Asia, Africa and Europe) from SOAS. Before starting her PhD, she worked as a curator in London and previously worked at Christie’s.
Please note: We reserve the right to change our tutors from those advertised. This happens rarely, but if it does, we are unable to refund fees due to this. Our tutors may have different teaching styles; however we guarantee a consistent quality of teaching in all our courses.
product
https://www.citylit.ac.uk/20-contemporary-artists-you-should-know304635420 contemporary artists you should knowhttps://www.citylit.ac.uk/media/catalog/product/2/0/20-contemporary-artists-you-should-know-vb522-1200.jpg129129GBPInStock/Courses/Courses/Culture, history & humanities/Art history/Courses/Culture, history & humanities/Art history/Introductory & general art history courses/Courses/Culture, history & humanities/Courses/Online courses228511361137117717311228511771136<p>Look in depth at four artists a week across a series of themes from body and power to socio-environmental change. What links can be made between artists of the twentieth and twenty-first centuries and where is art heading?</p>00304631820 contemporary artists you should know129129https://www.citylit.ac.uk/media/catalog/product/2/0/20-contemporary-artists-you-should-know-vb522-1200_1.jpgInStockDaytimeThuOnlineAvailable courses5-10 weeksWeekday2026-10-01T00:00:00+00:00BeginnersOct 2026Culture, history & humanitiesVB52212912920 contemporary artists you should know129129129Xinrui Zhang20-contemporary-artists-you-should-know/vb522-2627<p>Look in depth at four artists a week across a series of themes from body and power to socio-environmental change. What links can be made between artists of the twentieth and twenty-first centuries and where is art heading?</p>0000-Available|2026-10-01 00:00:00<p>Contemporary art has explored myriad concepts over the past fifty years including deconstruction, participatory art, and post-conceptualism. The field is more vibrant than ever, with artists working across sculpture, installation, performance, digital media, etc. Furthermore, socially engaged art involves communities in addressing real-world issues through collaborative creative processes. Join us as we explore the 20 essential artists redefining the landscape of contemporary art today.</p><p>Look in depth at four artists a week across a series of themes from body and power to socio-environmental change. What links can be made between artists of the twentieth and twenty-first centuries and where is art heading?</p><p>• For each artist covered we will look at the trajectory of their practice, key works, and where they sit in the field.</p><p>• Key concepts in contemporary art like participatory practice and socially engaged art</p><p>• Artistic responses to real-world challenges</p><p>• List at least a couple of characteristics of each artist’s practice</p><p>• Define key concepts in contemporary art</p><p>• Discuss how art history has changed over the past fifty years</p><p>This course is suitable for all levels.</p><p>You should be able to follow simple written and verbal instructions, demonstrations and hand-outs. You should be willing to read the assigned texts as they will be key to certain aspects of our lectures and discussions.</p><p>This is an online course open to all levels. Students should be familiar with or willing to learn to use digital systems to engage with class materials. These systems include Zoom and Google Classroom. If online learning is new to you, please have a look at our City Lit online learning help pages: <a href="https://help.citylit.ac.uk/hc/en-gb/articles/11273523970845-What-is-your-City-Lit-student-IT-account" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">click here</a>.</p><p>You will be taught by lecture with slide images and you will be invited to participate in group discussion. This course uses a Google Classroom to share supplementary materials. The tutor will post all documents course documents on the Google Classroom. The tutor cannot email documents for various reasons related to copyright and data protection.</p><p>You might wish to purchase a notebook for taking notes. You might wish to buy some of the books on any reading list provided for future study.</p><p>Contemporary art in London</p>Art historyIntroductory & general art history coursesvirtual129129129VB522NONEThu01/10/26 - 29/10/2610:30 - 12:0010:3012:005 sessions (over 5 weeks)55-10 weeksDaytimeWeekdayOnlineOnlineXinrui ZhangBeginnersAvailable courses2026-10-01T00:00:00+00:00Oct 2026Culture, history & humanities12912920 contemporary artists you should know20-contemporary-artists-you-should-know/vb522-2627<p>Look in depth at four artists a week across a series of themes from body and power to socio-environmental change. What links can be made between artists of the twentieth and twenty-first centuries and where is art heading?</p>0000-Available|2026-10-01 00:00:00<p>Contemporary art has explored myriad concepts over the past fifty years including deconstruction, participatory art, and post-conceptualism. The field is more vibrant than ever, with artists working across sculpture, installation, performance, digital media, etc. Furthermore, socially engaged art involves communities in addressing real-world issues through collaborative creative processes. Join us as we explore the 20 essential artists redefining the landscape of contemporary art today.</p><p>Look in depth at four artists a week across a series of themes from body and power to socio-environmental change. What links can be made between artists of the twentieth and twenty-first centuries and where is art heading?</p><p>• For each artist covered we will look at the trajectory of their practice, key works, and where they sit in the field.</p><p>• Key concepts in contemporary art like participatory practice and socially engaged art</p><p>• Artistic responses to real-world challenges</p><p>• List at least a couple of characteristics of each artist’s practice</p><p>• Define key concepts in contemporary art</p><p>• Discuss how art history has changed over the past fifty years</p><p>This course is suitable for all levels.</p><p>You should be able to follow simple written and verbal instructions, demonstrations and hand-outs. You should be willing to read the assigned texts as they will be key to certain aspects of our lectures and discussions.</p><p>This is an online course open to all levels. Students should be familiar with or willing to learn to use digital systems to engage with class materials. These systems include Zoom and Google Classroom. If online learning is new to you, please have a look at our City Lit online learning help pages: <a href="https://help.citylit.ac.uk/hc/en-gb/articles/11273523970845-What-is-your-City-Lit-student-IT-account" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">click here</a>.</p><p>You will be taught by lecture with slide images and you will be invited to participate in group discussion. This course uses a Google Classroom to share supplementary materials. The tutor will post all documents course documents on the Google Classroom. The tutor cannot email documents for various reasons related to copyright and data protection.</p><p>You might wish to purchase a notebook for taking notes. You might wish to buy some of the books on any reading list provided for future study.</p><p>Contemporary art in London</p>Art historyIntroductory & general art history coursesconfigurable
11371136Introductory & general art history courseshttps://www.citylit.ac.uk/courses/humanities/art-history/introductory-general-art-history1/2/285/1177/1136/11371/Courses/Culture, history & humanities/Art history/Introductory & general art history courses
