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
- Layout and grid designCourse start date: Thu 23 Apr 2026
Location on this date: Keeley Street
Tutors: John SmythLearn the skills required to create your own publication in this layout and grid design course. This course will teach you the design principles for layout design, exploring magazine layout and other publication design and empowering you to innovate and create your own publication.
Full fee £239.00 Senior fee £191.00 Concession £155.00 - Large-scale sketchbook
Course start date: Fri 24 Apr 2026Location on this date: Keeley Street
Tutors: Tony HullExplore the sequential and adaptive nature of large format sketchbook drawing as a site for generating personal material, inviting connections, and extracting patterns of meaning. Includes artist research, set-project as stimulus, and practical exploration of contemporary drawing techniques.
Full fee £449.00 Senior fee £359.00 Concession £292.00 - Jewellery: a buyer's guide to pearls Course start date: Sat 25 Apr 2026
Location on this date: Keeley Street
Tutors: Judith Crowe, Derek JhinnooJoin this fascinating one-day course for a valuable insight into pearls, their cultivation and trade, and use in jewellery. Learn how to recognise the many types on the market, judge the good from the bad, spot the imitations and buy your pearl jewellery with confidence. - Bookbinding: simple leather bindingCourse start date: Thu 30 Apr 2026
Location on this date: Keeley Street
Tutors: Ina BaumeisterDiscover how leather, combined with simple sewing and cutting techniques can create a wonderfully flexible and stylish bindings. Create books with folded and crossed structure covers, and include some decorative elements to personalise your work.Full fee £309.00 Senior fee £247.00 Concession £201.00 - London photography: bridges in the city Course start date: Thu 30 Apr 2026
Location on this date: Off Site
Tutors: Michael HardingExplore london and capture the beauty of the capitals bridges that span the Thames. This off-site photographic course will have you down to the river with your camera, exploring the diverse architectural designs and structures of bridges on the Thames that connect London. Learn about their history whilst learning the secrets to successful architectural and location photography.Full fee £129.00 Senior fee £129.00 Concession £129.00 - Collagraph printmaking weekendCourse start date: Sat 23 May 2026
Location on this date: Keeley Street
Tutors: Rosey PrinceMake and print a collagraph exploiting texture and colour using readily available and simple materials with a low environmental impact. The handmade matrix is deceptively simple to construct, the printed results often richer and more detailed than expected when run through the press. All welcome.Full fee £179.00 Senior fee £143.00 Concession £116.00 - Painting: mixing for skintones Course start date: Thu 4 Jun 2026
Location on this date: Keeley Street
This course will teach you the skills you need to paint naturalistic skin tones when working from life which will make your figure and portrait paintings more convincing.Full fee £209.00 Senior fee £167.00 Concession £136.00 - Beginners' bookbinding IIICourse start date: Fri 5 Jun 2026
Location on this date: Keeley Street
Tutors: Alessia TumbioloCome and immerse yourself in the art of bookbinding with this 6-week, accessible introduction. Whether you're taking your first steps or picking up the craft again, this course will equip you with essential techniques that will enable you to start creating your own handcrafted books and containers. Beginners will build strong foundational skills, while returners can refresh their skills and explore new creative possibilities.Full fee £409.00 Senior fee £327.00 Concession £266.00 - Bookbinding weekend: endband extravaganzaCourse start date: Sat 6 Jun 2026
Location on this date: Keeley Street
Tutors: Kathy AbbottA weekend packed full of endbands for bookbinding enthusiasts. Learn a little about the history and different styles of endband and try out some for yourself. There will be demonstrations of a range of endbands including multi-coloured, Islamic and ‘Manhattan’ style. Suitable for those with bookbinding experience.Full fee £179.00 Senior fee £143.00 Concession £116.00 - Photo lithography workshopCourse start date: Sat 6 Jun 2026
Location on this date: Keeley Street
Tutors: David HolahPhoto-plate lithography uses light sensitive aluminium plates as a printing matrix for photographic, text or hand drawn images. This versatile process allows you to collage and overprint these elements to create original works in small editions.Full fee £239.00 Senior fee £191.00 Concession £155.00 - Drawing for jewellers Course start date: Sat 6 Jun 2026
Location on this date: Keeley Street
Tutors: Louise Seijen Ten HoornAre you a jewellery maker who wants to become more confident in drawing? Join us on this two-session long evening class and learn how to sketch jewellery. Draw designs from different angles and add colour, shading and highlights. Learn to make a simple plan drawing (technical drawing), showing your design from the top, front and side view.Full fee £199.00 Senior fee £159.00 Concession £129.00 - Pet illustrationCourse start date: Sat 20 Jun 2026
Location on this date: Keeley Street
Tutors: Sophie WolfsonExplore techniques to create an impressive illustration of your pet.
Over two days you will explore a range of image-making techniques from drawing and painting to digital image manipulation and collage. At the end of the weekend you will take home a finished and unique illustration of your favourite pet.Full fee £179.00 Senior fee £143.00 Concession £116.00 - Character designCourse start date: Wed 24 Jun 2026
Location on this date: Keeley Street
Tutors: Ciara FloodThis course will explore the creation of characters within picture books and illustrated fiction.
Full fee £239.00 Senior fee £191.00 Concession £155.00 - Start bookbindingCourse start date: Sat 27 Jun 2026
Location on this date: Keeley Street
Tutors: Ina BaumeisterDiscover the art of handmade books! Three days of progressive projects will guide you through core techniques and prepare you to experiment, design and craft your own unique books.Full fee £229.00 Senior fee £183.00 Concession £149.00 - Artists sketchbook walk Course start date: Sat 5 Jul 2025 (and 1 other date)
Location on this date: Off Site
Tutors: Heidi WigmoreTake a sketchbook walk in Central London to observe, record and engage with the urban environment, both historic architecture, modern skylines, the river and parks. Quick sketching, supported by discussion and reflection along the way, will open up new ways of seeing and responding to your surroundings. Meet at City Lit main entrance.Full fee £79.00 Senior fee £79.00 Concession £79.00
Can't see a course you want?
Add this category to your waiting list to set up alerts and we will update you when new courses are released online.
Add me to waiting list