Art & Design Courses - Online & in London  

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.

Capture the architecture of London, from ancient churches to modern buildings in this introduction to architectural photography. Learn about the history and development of this specialist genre then venture onto the streets and spaces of London to put your theory into practice, identifying architectural styles and experimenting with different lenses, composition, processing and editing.

Discover 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.

Build your confidence and skills in outdoor watercolour painting in a variety of central London locations. You will be introduced to watercolour mixing and mark making in relation to painting the urban landscape. This course can be seen as a refresher or for students who have had a minimum amount of watercolour experience.

An introduction to some of the main ways of thinking about photography, based on cultural theory, politics, philosophy and semiotics.

Join us for a sketchbook walk around Central London to observe, record and engage with the busyness of urban life. Using mindfulness techniques combined with drawing we will be examining our experience and opening up to the magic and surprises that the city has to offer.

Learn about photographic studio practice and lighting. An introduction to using studio flash, 'hot' (tungsten) and ‘cold’ (fluorescent & LED) lights to enhance your portrait and still life photography.

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).