Online Modern & Contemporary Art Courses
Discover the artists, ideas and movements that have shaped the art world from the 19th century to the present day with City Lit’s online modern and contemporary art courses. Whether you’re curious about Impressionism, Dada, Abstract Expressionism, Pop Art or cutting-edge contemporary practice, our expert-led courses will deepen your understanding and inspire your creativity — all from the comfort of your own home.
Explore how artists have responded to social, political and cultural change, and examine the ways in which modern and contemporary art continues to challenge, provoke and innovate. With flexible online learning, live interactive sessions and supportive feedback from experienced tutors, you’ll engage with key works and ideas in a collaborative and accessible environment.
Our courses are open to all adults — no previous experience needed. Join a community of like-minded learners and enjoy the chance to explore the art of our times.
Explore our online modern and contemporary art courses today and gain fresh insight into the ever-evolving world of art.
- Mexican modernism
Course start date: Wed 23 Sep 2026Location on this date: Online
Tutors: Caroline LevisseFrida Kahlo was just one of many Mexican artists who brought together politics, identity, and an avant-garde spirit in their air, making Mexico City one of the most exciting art centres of the 1920s and 1930s. Looking at murals, prints, photographs, and paintings, this course in an introduction to a brilliant and thought-provoking movement.
Full fee £139.00 Senior fee £111.00 Concession £90.00 - Friday lates: Lubaina Himid – longing and belonging Course start date: Fri 23 Oct 2026
Location on this date: Online
Tutors: Chantal CondronThis Friday Late art history course spotlights the work of artist Lubaina Himid, one of Britain's most thought provoking artists.
Full fee £29.00 Senior fee £29.00 Concession £29.00 - Lunchtime lecture: Britain and the Bauhaus Course start date: Fri 23 Oct 2026
Location on this date: Online
Tutors: Julia MusgraveDiscover how British design ideas influenced German design schools in the late nineteenth century and how that influence was reversed in the 1930s when artists, designers, writers and architects embraced Bauhaus and Modernist design as a way to revitalise postwar Britain, and Bauhaus teachers were refugees in London. But did they succeed in making Britain modern?
Full fee £19.00 Senior fee £15.00 Concession £12.00 - Introduction to contemporary art: ideas and origins Course start date: Mon 26 Oct 2026
Location on this date: Online
Tutors: Christopher CollierEver wondered what's going on in the mind of contemporary artists? This course explores the ideas and historical background behind some of today’s most intriguing works, from Conceptualism and Video to Body Art and Installation.Full fee £159.00 Senior fee £159.00 Concession £103.00 - Friday lates: Edgar Degas, a strange painterCourse start date: Fri 8 Jan 2027
Location on this date: Online
Tutors: Sarah JaffrayEdgar Degas is a strange painter and this short course will help you see why. We'll explore the development of his artistic practice, his interest in modern subjects and how he cultivated the complicated, taking him far beyond his current reputation as the 'painter of dancers' .
Full fee £29.00 Senior fee £29.00 Concession £29.00 - Avant-garde women: art innovations of the 20th and 21st centuriesCourse start date: Thu 21 Jan 2027
Location on this date: Online
Tutors: Irina ChkhaidzeDiscover the work of prominent modern and contemporary women artists from the early twentieth century to the present, looking at the political and social transformations reflected in the artworks.Full fee £259.00 Senior fee £259.00 Concession £259.00 - Japan and Japonisme: from Edo to ParisCourse start date: Wed 3 Feb 2027
Location on this date: Online
Tutors: Sarah JaffrayAn introduction to the art of Edo Japan (1603-1868) and its profound impact on Western art in the 19th and early 20th centuries.
Full fee £189.00 Senior fee £189.00 Concession £189.00 - Helen Chadwick: woman in revoltCourse start date: Wed 3 Mar 2027
Location on this date: Online
Tutors: Chantal CondronDiscover the work of British artist, Helen Chadwick (1953-1996) whose ground-breaking practice in sculpture, photography and installation art challenged media and public perceptions of women in society; and the female body. Exploring ideas of gender, identity and sexuality, Chadwick was significantly influential on a following generation of artists in Britain.Full fee £29.00 Senior fee £29.00 Concession £29.00 - Friday lates: The future is now – an introduction to video art Course start date: Fri 5 Mar 2027
Location on this date: Online
Tutors: Irina ChkhaidzeExplore the early history of video art, its rise as a medium and its significance as a contemporary art practice. We focus on the influential video works from the 1960s-1980s.Full fee £29.00 Senior fee £29.00 Concession £19.00 - Art Revolutions from 1905-1925 Course start date: Wed 9 Jun 2027
Location on this date: Online
Tutors: Christopher CollierCubism, Futurism and Constructivism are pivotal movements in the history of modern art - encapsulating all the promise and peril of the 20th century’s devastating birth, and even helping rewrite perceptions of space and time.Full fee £89.00 Senior fee £89.00 Concession £58.00
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