Upcoming Events at City Lit
Artist Talks - In Conversation with...
The City Lit School of Visual Arts regularly hosts established speakers from the world of Visual Arts to speak about a subject passionate to them. Over the year, each guest speaker will present exciting visual lectures on various themes, points of discussion and debate around contemporary practice, as well as providing an insight in the creative industries.
Art & Design Foundation Open Day
Tuesday 25 March
Join us for our Art and Design Foundation Open Day. You will have the opportunity to meet tutors and students on our Foundation Diploma and Pre-Foundation courses, and view our workshops, facilities and gallery. We're also offering portfolio surgery sessions, application advice and interviews.
Words that Burn: Human Rights and Poetry Workshop
Saturday 29th March
Unlock the transformative power of words with Amnesty International UK’s 'Words that Burn: human rights and poetry workshop'. Co-delivered by award winning poet Deanna Rodger and AIUK Education Officer, Sita Kenyon.
Classics Day 2025
Saturday 5th April
Join us at the British Museum for a stimulating day of lectures presented by some of the UK’s most important classicists. This year's lectures will focus on how Ancient Greece has significantly contributed to the development of Western civilisations.
City Lit Theatre Company presents: A Vampire Story
10-12 April in the John Lyon's Theatre at City Lit
Two sisters, constantly on the run, find themselves in a quiet seaside town where no one knows them. Are they hiding from something, or someone? And could they possibly be vampires? As the town remains blissfully unaware, Ella reveals a shocking story that changes everything.
Join us for an intriguing and suspenseful performance that will keep you guessing until the very end. You can't have a Vampire Story without vampires...or can you?
Deaf Day 2025
Saturday 26 April
Deaf Day is a free, annual event organised by City Lit’s Centre for Deaf Education. This day celebrates Deaf culture with a variety of workshops, taster sessions, and an array of exhibitors. It’s the perfect opportunity to reconnect with old friends, build new networks, promote your organisation, and explore something new and exciting.
Visual Arts Open Day
10 May 2025
Join us for the annual City Lit Visual Arts open day. Throughout the day, at our HQ 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.
City Lit Student Bursary - giving everyone the chance to learn
We are a charity, you can make a difference
Each year, over 1000 students apply for help with course fees, materials, and assistance with travel and family care. Your gift makes sure that financial need isn’t a barrier to education.
Your gift can allow a single parent to discover a new skill, which will transform their lives. It can support our work with the deaf community, ensuring people across the UK can acquire sign language and lip reading provision. It can help us to further develop the UK’s only orchestra led by people with learning disabilities. In short, it will mean that City Lit is there for all Londoners for years to come.
Past events
2024 Mental Wealth Festival
10th-12th October 2024
The Mental Wealth Festival is coming back this year for its 10th year.
Expect a huge selection of talks, panels, workshops and performances, all in the name of restoring, supporting, and enhancing mental health. As it’s the 10th anniversary, we’ve organised an ‘all-star cast’ of contributors. Keep your eyes peeled over the coming months to see who’ll be joining us.
Deaf Day
Saturday 13 April 2024 at City Lit
Deaf Day celebrated its 26th anniversary on Saturday 13th April, with thousands of attendees heading from all over the UK to City Lit for the occasion.
International Women's Day
City Lit
To celebrate International Women’s Day, we have a range of courses and activities happening exploring and celebrating the significant contributions made by women to life, society, and culture…
In Conversation With Dame Mary Beard
Wednesday 17 January 2024 at City Lit
Mary will be discussing her new book Emperor of Rome, where she shines the spotlight on the emperors who ruled the Roman empire, from the well-known Julius Caesar to the almost unknown Alexander Severus. This event will be followed by a drinks reception and book signing (Emperor of Rome) in the City Lit Gallery.
City Lit Theatre Company presents After Life
Dates: 7th-9th December 2023
City Lit Theatre Company presents Vernon Thompson’s production of Jack Thorne’s After Life. A powerfully human look at how we view our lives, and a haunting meditation on what it is to live – and to die. Performances in the John Lyon’s Theatre at 7.30pm Thu 7th- Sat 9th December, with a Saturday matinee at 2.30pm.
Mental Wealth Festival
9th-14th October 2023
The Mental Wealth Festival returns on 9-14 October at City Lit and across other venues in central London. This year's theme is connections, and we’ll be exploring ways that connection supports and enhances mental health and wellbeing and celebrate the numerous ways in which we connect with others, ourselves, and the world around us through a series of talks, panel discussions and short courses.
In Conversation with Lord David Puttnam, Thursday 6 October at City Lit
We were delighted to welcome award-winning British film producer, educator and environmentalist, Lord David Puttnam, to discuss his life and career with City Lit Principal, Mark Malcomson CBE.
Classics Week (1-8 July 2022) & Classics Day (9 July 2022)
This year we brought you 9 days packed with interesting City Lit seminars as well as the main event, Classics Day at The British Museum. We had an amazing day celebrating the Citi exhibition Feminine power: divine to demonic at the British Museum with guest speakers Dame Mary Beard, Bettany Hughes, Belinda Crerar, Chris Naunton, Rosalind Janssen and David Stuttgart.
An evening with Dame Evelyn Glennie, Thursday 26 May 2022 at City Lit
We were delighted to welcome international solo percussionist and composer, Dame Evelyn Glennie to City Lit on Thursday 26 May 2022 to discuss her life and career and celebrate her latest achievement of becoming a City Lit Lifetime Fellow.
Events at City Lit
City Lit is much more than just an educational venue. Our events programme provides a wealth of cultural experience and entertainment, from showcasing the talents and achievements of those who have studied with us, to offering taster workshops for you to come along and try something new.
Throughout the year, we host a programme of art exhibitions, drama productions, musical performances, book launches, creative writing performances, festivals, talks, lectures and much more...
Our events are held both online and here in Covent Garden, and also offsite in locations all across London. Our partnerships with iconic institutes allow us to immerse ourselves in these new areas, from The National Gallery to The British Museum, and a whole host of art galleries.
Venue hire
Please note, that we are currently not taking any bookings.
For more information please email johnlyonstheatre@citylit.ac.uk