Art & design - Keeley Street - Off Site

Art & Design Courses - Online & 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

Courses available both in-person and online

We offer a range of long and short courses allowing you to choose between in-person and online learning.

Learn in the centre of London with our in-person courses. Our purpose-built facilities in Covent Garden mean we are ideally located and easy to get to. 

See our guide to online learning for more information about accessing our live online courses.

All our courses are live, interactive, and taught by expert tutors. No matter how you prefer to learn, we've got the class for you.

 

Join us for the City Lit Visual Arts open day on Saturday 18 May. Throughout the day, at our campus in Covent Garden, you will have the opportunity to immerse yourself in the full range and variety of our art and design subjects on offer.  Find out more >

 

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  1. Screenprinting in a day
    Last Few Places, Weekend
    Course start date:  Sun 28 Apr 2024 (and 9 other dates)

    Location on this date:  Keeley Street

    Tutors:  Adam Hogarth
    In this fun, 1-day workshop you will be taught how to print and register a two colour screenprint using monoprint, colour blends and pre-made photographic screens. You will be taught some basic screen making process and insight into making digital artwork. This will set you up for longer and more advanced screenprinting classes.
    Full fee £99.00 Senior fee £99.00 Concession £99.00
  2. Sketching at the museum: V&A
    Course start date:  Thu 9 May 2024 (and 3 other dates)

    Location on this date:  Off Site

    Tutors:  Stuart Jones
    Exploring the pleasure and challenge of sketchbooks; learn and improve your drawing skills and 'ways of seeing' and understanding, working from a fascinating range of objects and artifacts in The Victoria and Albert Museum.
    Full fee £69.00 Senior fee £69.00 Concession £69.00
  3. What did narrative ever do for you?
    Course start date:  Fri 10 May 2024 (and 1 other date)

    Location on this date:  Keeley Street

    Tutors:  Lily Markiewicz
    Learn about the structure and function of narrative, and find out how it relates to your creative practice. In this workshop we will consider film, animation, moving image or other time-based practices, primarily, in which there is a clear and accessible connection to the unfolding of meaning over a linear (or non-linear) sequence, but we may also discuss examples across potentially any creative discipline, and other forms of expression. We will look at principles of narrative and narrative structures in film, the ‘conventions’ of storytelling across a range of examples, and how these have been used or subverted within the form. Storytelling is fundamental to human civilisation: across all cultures, narrative plays a central role in our understanding of our place in the world, and addressing profound questions about our existence. Children learn through stories; cultures cohere through shared narratives. We will consider the role of narrative as a fundamentally important pillar in underpinning societies, belief systems, and values, and why an awareness of these relationships is increasingly important in these ‘unprecedented’ times.
    Full fee £69.00 Senior fee £69.00 Concession £69.00
  4. The archive: resource and practice
    Course start date:  Fri 7 Jun 2024 (and 1 other date)

    Location on this date:  Keeley Street

    Tutors:  Rolina Elsje Blok
    The archive is an invaluable resource for artists and designers, without some version of which it is virtually impossible to engage in practice in any systematic way. Whether it takes the form of sketchbooks, photographs, found items and clippings, internet bookmarks, or any combination of these and other items, the archive is a tool for organising, examining and reflecting. In this professional practice module, we will look at how to create and access physical and online archives, and how to use them in both research and practice, creating and organising personal archives. Many artists use the archive as a form of art practice: we will examine this, and how it differs from other forms of archiving. We will look at multiple approaches to storing information, organising it for accessibility, and working with the tools and perspectives of the archivist or curator, as appropriate to one’s individual practice.
    Full fee £69.00 Senior fee £69.00 Concession £69.00
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  5. The creative industries
    Course start date:  Tue 18 Jun 2024 (and 1 other date)

    Location on this date:  Keeley Street

    Tutors:  Andrew McCarten
    Creativity is one of the areas in which the UK retains a leading position, globally, and much is made of the importance of the ‘creative economy’, and its value to the country. But what exactly are the co-called ‘creative industries’ we hear so much about? What is the value of ‘creativity’ and ‘innovation’ to the national and global economy, and does this extend beyond the overtly ‘creative’ pursuits of art, design and entertainment? How is so-called ‘creative thinking’ central to business, industries and services? In many countries around the world, the benefits of approaches to learning that are central pillars of ‘creative education’ are increasingly recognised in terms of their value in developing fully-rounded learners, and citizens. This workshop examines these questions, and considers the value of creative education in the context of a series of disciplines predicated on thinking related to solving problems, and its relevance for all aspects of contemporary life.



    For this workshop, you will need to have access to A3 or A4 plain paper, and a range of coloured marker pens, as well as a notebook. Basic materials will be provided, but you are also welcome to bring and use your own.
    Full fee £69.00 Senior fee £69.00 Concession £69.00
  6. Collaborative creative projects
    Course start date:  Fri 28 Jun 2024 (and 1 other date)

    Location on this date:  Keeley Street

    Tutors:  Rolina Elsje Blok
    Recent advances in technology and communications provide creative practitioners and communities with opportunities that, in historical terms, are unique. We have never before had the capacity to react to events and engage with issues that, in some cases for the very same reasons, can no longer be confined, in terms of their impact, to the location in which they occur. Consider, for instance, climate change, Coronavirus, the BLM movement and the global reaction to inequality and injustice. Artists and designers have at their disposal, through these same resources, and the full range of traditional media, the capacity to respond to these developments, and to effect change. With this, inevitably, comes the imperative of social responsibility. This workshop looks at how creative individuals engage with notions of collaborative practice (both via online/distributed models and through physical media/interactions) in the production or propagation of ideas, movements, memes or artefacts, including with those one has possibly never met, and perhaps does not even know. Besides collaboration in making, we consider the potential of social/viral media as a disruptor or organisational tool, (for example in events, happenings, flash-mobs, and organised protests or movements such as Anonymous, Occupy, XR, BLM and others).
    Full fee £69.00 Senior fee £69.00 Concession £69.00
  7. Drawing for jewellers
    Evening
    Course start date:  Mon 8 Jul 2024

    Location on this date:  Keeley Street

    Are 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 £99.00 Senior fee £99.00 Concession £99.00
  8. Sketching at the museum: Tate Modern
    Course start date:  Thu 25 Apr 2024 (and 3 other dates)

    Location on this date:  Off Site

    Exploring the pleasure and challenge of sketchbooks; learn and improve your drawing skills and 'ways of seeing' and understanding, working from an exciting range of artworks in Tate modern.
    Full fee £69.00 Senior fee £69.00 Concession £69.00
  9. Nature and landscape photography: London location
    Course start date:  Fri 8 Nov 2024 (and 1 other date)

    Location on this date:  Off Site

    Tutors:  Rachel Wegh
    Widllife in the city is an exciting opportunity to work off-site and enjoy various surroundings focusing on flora and fauna. Travel to some of some of London’s finest open spaces whilst learning the photography skills required in focusing on details, landscape and capturing natures beauty. Ideal for beginners, those who want to broaden their photography skills and those wishing to continue building their photography portfolio.
    Full fee £79.00 Senior fee £79.00 Concession £79.00
  10. The design brief
    Course start date:  Tue 4 Feb 2025

    Location on this date:  Keeley Street

    Tutors:  Andrew McCarten
    This workshop provides a forum for exploring and discussing the process (and sometimes challenges) of working with clients over a commercial design brief or commission. While some design briefs are relatively straightforward, and perhaps require a simple rendering of the client's vision, at other times the client can be unsure of what they actually want, and it can be a frustrating, uncertain and time-consuming process for the designer to identify and produce a solution to what is, sometimes, a poorly-defined question. Referring to real-life examples and case-studies, this workshop will take learners through the process of making a pitch, deconstructing a brief to be certain of what the client wants and needs (and whether these are same thing), presenting proposals, and working within time, resource and financial constraints. These are invaluable skills for the design professional that are equally applicable, for the student, to project briefs and coursework.



    For this workshop, you will need to have access to A3 or A4 plain paper, and a range of coloured marker pens, as well as a notebook. Basic materials will be provided, but you are welcome to bring and use your own as well.
    Full fee £79.00 Senior fee £79.00 Concession £79.00
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