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
- Introduction to using the sewing machine
Course start date: Tue 9 Dec 2025 (and 1 other date)Location on this date: Keeley Street
Tutors: Renata MinoldoIdeal for beginners, you will learn how to use a sewing machine, its different components, how to troubleshoot and look after your machine. You will also learn different basic sewing techniques to start your journey into the world of sewing.Full fee £129.00 Senior fee £129.00 Concession £129.00 - City Lit textiles: mixed media Course start date: Tue 16 Sep 2025 (and 1 other date)
Location on this date: Keeley Street
Tutors: Renata MinoldoInvestigate mixed-media textiles through this project-based course which introduces a variety of materials, techniques and design processes. You will develop a creative portfolio of textile samples using sketchbook research and finally work towards a finished piece.Full fee £499.00 Senior fee £399.00 Concession £324.00 - Portraits and people photography Course start date: Tue 16 Sep 2025 (and 4 other dates)
Location on this date: Keeley Street
Tutors: Lorenzo BerniDiscover the secrets of successful portraiture, from the studio-lit portrait to street and documentary photography, or those special moments for the family album. Gain confidence in photographing people through practical work indoors and out, teaching you invaluable skills in lighting, composition and poses, to produce a beautiful portrait portfolio.Full fee £239.00 Senior fee £191.00 Concession £155.00 - Introduction to pattern cutting III Course start date: Tue 16 Sep 2025
Location on this date: Keeley Street
Tutors: Rachel SelormeyThis is a chance to work on your own project of your own choice creating a pattern of a garment you have designed or a style you have always wanted to recreate from your favored garment.Full fee £439.00 Senior fee £351.00 Concession £285.00 - Pottery evening Course start date: Tue 16 Sep 2025
Location on this date: Keeley Street
Tutors: Trish SpenceFor those with some previous ceramic experience wishing to work towards their own goals, or suitable for beginners who wish to learn hand-building and throwing processes, as well as surface decoration and glazing.Full fee £619.00 Senior fee £495.00 Concession £402.00 - SketchUp Pro for beginners Course start date: Tue 16 Sep 2025
Location on this date: Keeley Street
Tutors: Nicholas WilliamsonLearn to visualise and model interior spaces and 3D forms with this easy-to-use and intuitive program. It is a perfect addition to our interior and/or garden design courses. The software is very affordable and available for home use on a PC or Mac. - Processing black and white photographic film Course start date: Tue 24 Feb 2026 (and 1 other date)
Location on this date: Keeley Street
Tutors: Catriona GrayShoot a roll of black and white film and develop it in traditional chemicals, learning 2 ways to view the images on your film (analogue and digital)
Full fee £159.00 Senior fee £127.00 Concession £103.00 - Calligraphy and illumination Course start date: Tue 29 Apr 2025 (and 1 other date)
Location on this date: Keeley Street
Tutors: Emiko HashiguchiLearn how to write beautifully with a dip pen and design and produce a piece of work with illuminated letters using colour and gold leaf. All levels.Full fee £299.00 Senior fee £239.00 Concession £194.00 - City Lit expanded experimental filmCourse start date: Tue 23 Sep 2025
Location on this date: Keeley Street
Tutors: Lucy Ellis, Monika Kita, Fiona Jane WalshCurious about contemporary approaches to experimental film?
This interdisciplinary course is designed for artists, filmmakers, and creatives eager to explore film beyond conventional boundaries. This course is an invitation to challenge conventional filmmaking by integrating elements from performance, theatre, puppetry, animation, installation and sound—encouraging you to rethink and expand your creative approach.
Led by an artist and filmmaker, alongside guest practitioners from various creative fields, this course fosters an environment for interdisciplinary exploration, encouraging new ways of thinking and making. Through hands-on workshops, discussions, and personal projects, you will gain both practical skills and conceptual insights to expand your creative practice.
Term 1: 23/09/2025 – 02/12/2025
Term 2: 3/01/2026 – 24/03/2026
Term 3: 1/04/2026 – 30/06/2026
Extra tutorials will be held between terms.Full fee £2,999.00 Senior fee £2,399.00 Concession £1,949.00 - City Lit improvers jewelleryCourse start date: Tue 23 Sep 2025
Location on this date: Keeley Street
This year long course is for students who have completed the beginners Jewellery course and want to refine existing skills as well as gaining experience in a range of Jewellery –making processes.
This course will come with a City lit Certificate at the end showing the skills that have been learnt.
Full fee £1,899.00 Senior fee £1,519.00 Concession £1,234.00 - City Lit animation Course start date: Tue 23 Sep 2025
Location on this date: Keeley Street
Tutors: Stephanie Griffiths, Litza JanszPassionate about animation? Fancy spending a year building skills in traditional and digital animation techniques and producing your own animation project? Taught by professional animators, this exciting fast-track practical course gives you the opportunity to explore both commercial and experimental approaches to animation using professional equipment and software. Whether you’re a complete beginner or have some animation experience you can join our award winning alumni. A fantastic start to a new career or simply a chance to pursue your passion with like-minded people.
To see a showreel of student work click here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ySgnN_DcJjA.Full fee £2,499.00 Senior fee £1,999.00 Concession £1,624.00 - City Lit bookbinding Course start date: Tue 23 Sep 2025
Location on this date: Keeley Street
Tutors: Kate RochesterStep into bookbinding with this three-term course. Learn essential techniques and develop skills in using tools and materials to produce your own work. A stimulating, challenging and comprehensive introduction for beginners.
Term 1 23/09/2025 – 21/10/2025 (half-term week 28/10) 04/11/2025 - 09/12/2025
Term 2 06/01/2026 – 10/02/2026 (half-term week 17/02) 24/02/2026 - 31/03/2026
Term 3 14/04/2026 – 19/05//2026 (half-term week 26/05) 02/06/2026 - 14/07/2026. - Drawing: charcoal techniques Course start date: Tue 23 Sep 2025
Location on this date: Keeley Street
Tutors: Luke JonesExplore the creative possibilities that this fragile medium affords. Learn and develop the components of drawing with charcoal’s subtle yet dynamic lines. This is a course for beginners. No experience is necessary.Full fee £209.00 Senior fee £167.00 Concession £136.00 - Lithography print workshopCourse start date: Tue 23 Sep 2025
Location on this date: Keeley Street
Tutors: Simon BurderLearn how to produce work that mimics a painterly style using lithography printmaking processes. Lithography depends on the delicate balance between grease and water and can provide a broad range of outcomes. Learn how marks and brush strokes drawn and painted on the printing plate can be faithfully reproduced to create bold or subtle prints.Full fee £239.00 Senior fee £191.00 Concession £155.00 - Fine jewellery workshopCourse start date: Tue 30 Sep 2025
Location on this date: Keeley Street
Tutors: Elizabeth Bone, Rae Duncan, Rebecca Ilett, Katrin SprangerWork independently on your own jewellery projects in our well equipped jewellery workshop. This is an opportunity for self-directed and untutored bench time, sharing the studio with the year long VV414 Advanced jewellery course.Full fee £899.00 Senior fee £719.00 Concession £629.00
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