City Lit Art School — Art Classes in London
Explore new and exciting subjects within a range of art and design disciplines, develop your skill set, get the support required to change career or launch yourself as a freelance artist or designer. All this and more delivered through our practical and engaging art and design courses at City Lit.
Our range of part-time, weekend and evening art and design classes are taught by successful artists and practitioners to ensure you get the skills, knowledge and experience you want and deserve. From experimental painting and drawing to contemporary jewellery making, there is sure to be a course for you. Study from 1 day to 2 years, whether you are a complete beginner or a practising artist preparing for an MA. Our courses are designed with you in mind, so you get to spend more time doing what you love.
Set a new goal, start your next creative adventure with City Lit and let us support you to realise your ambitions.
We host exhibitions throughout the year at City Lit Gallery where our students showcase their amazing work.
Any questions? Contact our visual arts team on visual.arts@citylit.ac.uk
- Pinhole photographyCourse start date: Wed 16 Jul 2025 (and 1 other date)
Location on this date: Kean Street Photography Studio
Tutors: Scott PerryDiscover exciting experimental ways of producing photographic images without a camera - build your own pinhole camera, create blue-tinted prints with sunlight, and make prints from objects like the artist Man Ray.Full fee £169.00 Senior fee £169.00 Concession £169.00 - Experimental sculpture in plaster and clayCourse start date: Sat 19 Jul 2025
Location on this date: Keeley Street
Explore the possibilities of modelling in clay and plaster. Taking inspiration from contemporary sculpture, work from found objects to develop your imagination, explore techniques of modelling, casting and transform forms according to your imagination. All levels of experience welcome.Full fee £229.00 Senior fee £183.00 Concession £149.00 - Flush setting for jewellery makersCourse start date: Sat 26 Jul 2025
Location on this date: Keeley Street
Tutors: Louise Seijen Ten HoornFor intermediate jewellers. Learn how to set round brilliant cut/faceted stones in sheet metal and rings using the traditional flush setting technique. You will practice in copper, before moving on to work in silver. There will also be a chance to make your own flush setting tool. - Mixed media printmakingCourse start date: Sat 26 Jul 2025
Location on this date: Keeley Street
Tutors: Rolina Elsje BlokThis course introduces you to new ways of combining printmaking with creative thinking by using multiple printmaking techniques and processes, layering them to produce compositions that can be made into artworks to take away with you.Full fee £319.00 Senior fee £255.00 Concession £207.00 - Full fee £179.00 Senior fee £179.00 Concession £179.00
- Explore printmakingCourse start date: Wed 30 Jul 2025 (and 5 other dates)
Location on this date: Keeley Street
Tutors: Esther HeyhoeCome and get inky with this fun one day workshop exploring printmaking. This course will give you a basic understanding of monoprinting, relief printing and screen printing and is aimed at those who would like to explore different printmaking techniques before going on to other courses.Full fee £79.00 Senior fee £79.00 Concession £79.00 - Try it out: bookbindingCourse start date: Sat 9 Aug 2025 (and 1 other date)
Location on this date: Keeley Street
Tutors: Kate RochesterDip your fingers into bookbinding. Learn a little about the materials and craft of bookbinding while making an attractive book to take home. A chance to discuss further study in bookbinding at City Lit.Full fee £129.00 Senior fee £129.00 Concession £129.00 - Jewellery making: all levelsCourse start date: Sat 20 Sep 2025 (and 1 other date)
Location on this date: Keeley Street
Tutors: Kevin StevensonEver wanted to make your own jewellery? Try out jewellery-making, getting to grips with the basic processes and techniques for using metal to create simple yet beautiful earrings, rings, pendants and bracelets to your own
designs.Full fee £419.00 Senior fee £335.00 Concession £272.00 - Introduction to painting portraitsCourse start date: Sun 21 Sep 2025
Location on this date: Keeley Street
Tutors: Luke JonesAn opportunity to paint and draw from the life model focusing on portraiture. Basic observational skills will be explored as well as advice on how we can convey mood, character and tell a story through a portrait, inspired examples of artists portrait drawings and paintings. - Illustration into printmakingCourse start date: Wed 24 Sep 2025 (and 2 other dates)
Location on this date: Keeley Street
This course is a playful, explorative and creative introduction into the collaborative world of illustration and printmaking.
Full fee £239.00 Senior fee £191.00 Concession £155.00 - Developing art practiceCourse start date: Sat 4 Oct 2025
Location on this date: Keeley Street
Tutors: Eleanor Bedlow, Rolina Elsje Blok, Ute Kreyman, Joe Richardson, Heidi WigmoreThis advanced course for developing and practicing artists consists of work-based seminars facilitated by peers and artist-tutors, giving you the opportunity to develop and present your work for critical discourse. The course includes individual tutorials and mentoring, critical investigation via group crits, visits to galleries and artist-run organisations, collaborative work and discussion and debate. This course is one of the eligible programmes for application to Bloomberg New Contemporaries.
The course will be delivered onsite.
This course requires an application prior to enrolment. Please click 'start assessment' to begin your application.Full fee £1,249.00 Senior fee £999.00 Concession £874.00 - Guided Photo Walk Focussing on Composition - City Lit Silver SundayCourse start date: Sun 5 Oct 2025
Location on this date: Keeley Street
Tutors: Michael HardingA Guided Photo Walk in the area, emphasizing how to improve your photographic composition. (Suitable for camera phone or DSLR). This walk takes place on firm, level ground covering a modest distance.
Age UK’s Silver Sunday is a day dedicated to older people which takes place every year in October. Fun and free activities are held across the UK where older people can make new friends, visit new places, try new activities, and connect with other generations in their local communities. This year’s Silver Sunday will be taking place on Sunday 6th October, and City Lit will join in the activities by offering a diverse selection of workshops.
This tater session is aimed specifically to older people but that everyone is welcome to join in, as connecting generations forms an important part of this day.Full fee £0.00 - Five Easy Steps to Taking Better Photographs on your mobile or DSLR - City Lit Silver SundayCourse start date: Sun 5 Oct 2025
Location on this date: Keeley Street
Tutors: Michael HardingAn illustrated guide to improving your photograph in easy steps.
Age UK’s Silver Sunday is a day dedicated to older people which takes place every year in October. Fun and free activities are held across the UK where older people can make new friends, visit new places, try new activities, and connect with other generations in their local communities. This year’s Silver Sunday will be taking place on Sunday 6th October, and City Lit will join in the activities by offering a diverse selection of workshops.
This taster session is aimed specifically to older people but everyone is welcome to join in, as connecting generations forms an important part of this day.Full fee £0.00 - City Lit fine art: year 3Course start date: Sat 11 Oct 2025
Location on this date: Keeley Street
Tutors: Steven ScottYear 3 (VM553) is the culmination of the CLFA course and combines practical studio sessions with a professional and externally focussed remit designed to enable you to further refine your creative work and enhance your professional capabilities in the development of an independent artistic practice. The course encourages students to find and pursue external opportunities relevant to their practice such as organising an exhibition or collaborating with external organisations.
Building upon and consolidating the learnings gained in year 1 and 2 of CLFA, or on your experience of practicing and studying to an equivalent level, you will pursue an individual, self-motivated route through year 3. This will be based upon an existing portfolio, defined intentions, and ongoing creative projects. The Year 3 course is designed to support individual development of new artwork that extends an existing creative practice. It will also allow you to enhance this with an understanding of professional activities that might include the process of making funding applications, finding exhibition opportunities, or developing external relationships. You will be able to engage with practicing artist/tutors in group critiques, one-to-one tutorials, seminars, and self-motivated studio production sessions in which you can explore and refine your skills and creative ideas. There will be engagement with ideas and contexts, and professional practice-based sessions that support the development of your creative work so that it can be sustained beyond the duration of the course.
Note: this course runs on Saturday daytimes fortnightly, and occasional Sundays.Full fee £1,749.00 Senior fee £1,399.00 Concession £1,224.00 - Mixed media and digital printmakingCourse start date: Sat 11 Oct 2025
Location on this date: Keeley Street
Tutors: Rolina Elsje BlokThis course introduces you to new ways of combining printmaking with creative thinking by using multiple printmaking techniques and processes, layering them to produce compositions that can be made into artworks to take away with you.Full fee £209.00 Senior fee £167.00 Concession £136.00
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