Art & Design Courses - Online & in London  

Attending two days a week, you will develop your ceramic techniques and drawing skills to build a portfolio of 2D and 3D work. Focus on the development of your personal ideas within a structure of varied projects, which could lead onto study in further and higher education. Some materials are included.



NOTE: Applications will be reviewed in May 2024.

Workshop in ceramics alongside students on VR710 City Lit ceramics.

The UAL Foundation Diploma in Art & Design at City Lit is an exciting and challenging multi-disciplinary art, design, craft and media programme. It is designed to give you the best possible introduction to a wide range of materials, techniques and processes, and to support you in identifying and developing your creative interests and thinking. Validated by the University of the Arts London Awarding Body, it is an internationally recognised qualification with a UCAS tariff that enables you to apply directly to University.



The course fee is £5421, plus an upfront fee of £0 payable at the time of your enrolment.



If you are unable to pay the course fee upfront, you can choose to apply for an Advanced Learner Loan from Student Finance England (SFE) to help cover the cost, repayable after the course ends. You can find more information about the Advanced Learner Loan www.citylit.ac.uk/advanced-learner-loans



If you are unable to pay the upfront fee, you can talk to our Information, Advice and Guidance team who will advise you on other financial support available. You can contact the Advice and Guidance Team by phone on (telephone temporarily unavailable) or by email: advice@citylit.ac.uk



For more information, please call Advanced Practice on .

For learners experienced in a wide range of basketry techniques, this is a new course to build develop your skills. You will be introduced to some new techniques and emphasis will be placed on self directed study and developing a personal portfolio of work. This course is suitable for those experienced in a wide range of basketry techniques and who have completed the City Lit basketry course or have equivalent skills. These will be discussed at a pre-enrolment interview.

Take your textiles to another level with this stimulating two year advanced course. Open up new perspectives for your work as you explore a range of technical and visual research methods in response to a theme. These will include approaches to drawing, contextual studies, mixed media, dye and print, stitch and constructed textiles. You will be guided and supported throughout by regular tutorials and workshops that stretch your individual textile practice. The course will culminate in a public exhibition at the end of year two.

Develop your painting in greater depth on this advanced course, working with a team of artist-tutors and a committed network of peer-practitioners, across a set of projects focusing on a range of contemporary themes, processes, and debates. The course is intended for experienced painters with a positive and enquiring attitude to the practices and discourses of painting in its various forms, and a commitment to peer-dialogue and critical discussion. Focused and intensive studio-based weekend projects (once per month), are interspersed with weekly online tutorials, feedback, discussion and seminars.



This course will be delivered online and in person. See the ‘What is the course about?’ section in course details for more information.

This advanced course will refine your existing jewellery making and design skills, through sessions in the workshop and guided independent study tasks. With an ethos of ‘idea to product,’ developing your personal research, design and making approach, there will be structured modules and projects encouraging you to build on your technical skills, presentation, and professional practice. We will explore material, finish and construction, alongside professional practice methodologies such as drawing, prototyping, outsourcing, pricing, and selling. The course culminates with working towards the production of a final body of work to be exhibited in public.

This course will help you improve your skills in graphic design and visual communications in their broadest sense, for delivery or publication in print and online, working with text, image, layout, medium and message across a range of physical and digital media and formats.



It is ideal for anyone who has already completed our City Lit graphics course, and for anyone wishing to build a more extensive and professional portfolio of graphics work, whilst developing a deeper understanding of the connection between text, image, message and media.



Confirmed industry specialist guests: Lydia Thornley, Designer, Creative Director and Reportage Illustrator and award winning film producer/director Mark Craig, maker of the film “The Last Man On The Moon”.

This advanced course in contemporary creative practice will support you in developing a personal project through research, experimentation, development and exhibition in a supportive studio environment. The course is facilitated by practising artists, theorists and curators.







This course requires an application prior to enrolment. Please contact Visual Arts for more information.



This course will be delivered online and in person. See the ‘What is the course about?’ section in course details for more information.

Interested in a career in Children’s Book Illustration, or advancing your practice to the next level? With the guidance and support of your tutors, you will have the opportunity to engage with experienced industry professionals, and develop your practice and personal visual vocabulary to a professional standard.







Confirmed visitors/speakers include:



- Rachel Petty, author/illustrator agent at the Blair Partnership, former editorial director Macmillan Children's Books,



- Margaret Hope, art director, Welbeck Publishing Group



- Arabella Stein, Managing Director, Bright Agency.

This year-long advanced course is aimed at artist-printmakers who wish to develop a sustainable personal practice through the medium of print. With the support of expert tutors, you will be guided through experimental, practice-based research and developmental tasks that challenge your preconceptions of print media including etching, screen-printing, lithography and relief. You will eventually focus on a longer projects that encourage both a personal enquiry and the development of an individual methodology. The course involves theoretical, contextual and practical components. Student testimony:



“This course has been absolutely brilliant! It’s not only taught me printmaking methods but also about the artistic process. I’ve learnt so much, it’s really been very transformative!” El Morrison (2023)



“The course has pushed my boundaries. It has encouraged me to try new things within print and to think about the context and concepts I am trying to deliver” Declan Hoare (2023)



“I thoroughly enjoyed the course. I met many wonderful talented artists. It has made me think about my own practice; how can I change it, modify it, make it more exciting. The tutors are absolutely amazing! They are full of knowledge, encouragement, and support. It was a great, great experience.” Areej Abdi (2023).



This course will be delivered online and in person. See the ‘What is the course about?’ section in course details for more information.

This year-long advanced course is aimed at artists who wish to expand their print-based practice through exploring the integration of printmaking with a range of other media and processes. It includes: individual and collaborative practice; the creation of a body of work in a range of print- and print-related media; the production of a print publication, and a public exhibition of work. As you acquire advanced skills you will be encouraged to explore your own ideas and themes developing a sustainable art practice that is both meaningful to you and relevant to the contemporary art world.



This course will be delivered online and in person. See the ‘What is the course about?’ section in course details for more information.

The human form offers inexhaustible potential for communication and expression of ideas; this is an exciting advanced course for those with experience of working with the figure and/or portrait who would like the challenge of exploring new perspectives on the figurative tradition in drawing, painting and mixed media.

Year 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.

Year 2 of the City Lit Fine Art course enables you to consolidate and focus the various experiences and ideas you will have gained in year 1. (Direct entry to year 2 is also possible, via interview, if you have an appropriate level of prior experience.) You will adopt simple research methods to reflect upon, identify and develop a personal creative project on a more individual, self-motivated route. This will result in the development of a cohesive body of new work that reflects your own interests. You will have group critiques, one-to-one tutorials and all day studio production sessions that allow you to explore and refine your creative skills, and seminars and presentations in which you will engage with new ideas and contexts; all delivered by experienced, practicing artists. Some basic materials are included.



You will have the opportunity to help organise and present some of your recent work in a group exhibition, via negotiation and with the support of your tutors. 2 – 4pm online Zoom sessions on alternate Mondays (15 in total)



10am – 5pm in City Lit studios. On alternate Tuesdays (16 in total)



6pm – 9pm in City Lit digital media suite. On 4 or 5 alternate Tuesday evenings per term (12 in total.



This course will be delivered online and in person. See the ‘What is the course about?’ section in course details for more information.