Events
Courses And Classes
Our innovative and varied programme of short courses provides a remarkable opportunity to explore the history and theory, business and practice of art. Expert practitioners including Royal Academicians, academics and leading scholars, lead classes and discussions across the RA’s historic spaces and world-class exhibitions, providing a range of perspectives and practices for international audiences.
For further information and enquiries, please contact Anna Pojer, Academic Programmes Programmer, on 020 7300 5684 or anna.pojer@royalacademy.org.uk
Short courses
Oceania symposium
● Fully booked
● Cancelled
Thursday 27 September 2018
11am — 6pm
The Benjamin West Lecture Theatre, Burlington Gardens, Royal Academy of Arts
This symposium explores the power and diversity of Oceanic art, and the politics of its circulation, interpretation and curation today.
£45. Includes a complimentary ticket to the Oceania exhibition.
Short courses
Anatomical drawing
Weekend-long practical course
● Fully booked
● Cancelled
-
29 September 2018, 10.30am — 5.30pm
-
30 September 2018, 10.30am — 5.30pm
The Life Room, Royal Academy Schools
Artist, writer and broadcaster Dr Sarah Simblet will lead a detailed examination of the human body, explored through the eyes of the artist. With particular reference to physicality and aesthetic beauty, Sarah Simblet will make use of works from the RA’s historic teaching collection, as well as life models, to explore this complex subject matter.
£420. Includes all materials, lunch, and wine reception.
Short courses
Understanding the human form
Five-week practical evening course
● Fully booked
● Cancelled
-
3 October 2018, 6.15 — 9.15pm
-
10 October 2018, 6.15 — 9.15pm
-
17 October 2018, 6.15 — 9.15pm
-
24 October 2018, 6.15 — 9.15pm
-
31 October 2018, 6.15 — 9.15pm
The Life Room, RA Schools, Royal Academy of Arts
With practising artists Adele Wagstaff and Andy Pankhurst, learn the essentials of drawing and explore anatomy and the human form in the Royal Academy’s historic Life Room, a purpose-built space for life drawing.
£420 Includes all materials, light refreshments and a drinks reception at the end of the final session.
Short courses
Stolen! How, when and why?
Ten-week art history and theory course
● Fully booked
● Cancelled
9 October — 11 December 2018
The Benjamin West Lecture Theatre, Burlington Gardens, Royal Academy of Arts.
A distinguished line-up of academics and art-world professionals investigate the rationale behind and impact of the theft of paintings from public institutions, with insight into the world of art crime.
6.30–8.00pm each week (registration from 6pm). £420 for full course, £260 for weeks 1–5 OR weeks 6–10. Includes all materials and light refreshments throughout.
Short courses
Imagining Oceania: contesting histories, creating futures
Weekend-long art history course
● Fully booked
● Cancelled
-
13 October 2018, 10am — 5pm
-
14 October 2018, 10am — 5pm
Wolfson British Academy Room, 6 Burlington Gardens, Royal Academy of Arts
Join leading art historian Dr Kathryn Brown to explore the entangled narratives of Oceanic and European art, the legacies of colonialism and the breath-taking contemporary art of the Pacific Islands.
£420. Includes all materials, light refreshments at the beginning of each day and wine reception at the end of day one.
Short courses
Life drawing with Chris Wilkinson RA
Morning session
● Fully booked
● Cancelled
Saturday 13 October 2018
10.30am — 1.30pm
The Life Room, RA Schools, Piccadilly
Take part in a practical life-drawing class in the RA’s historic Life Room with architect and Royal Academician Chris Wilkinson, inspired by the Renzo Piano exhibition.
£120 for one session. £200 if booked in conjunction with the Humphrey Ocean RA life drawing session. Includes all materials, light refreshments and a complimentary ticket to the Renzo Piano exhibition.
Priority booking for Friends opens at 10am on Wednesday 20 June 2018. Booking opens to the public at 10am on Friday 22 June 2018.
Short courses
Life drawing with Humphrey Ocean RA
Afternoon session
● Fully booked
● Cancelled
Saturday 13 October 2018
2.30 — 5.30pm
The Life Room, RA Schools, Royal Academy of Arts
Take part in a practical life-drawing class in the RA’s historic Life Room with painter and Royal Academician Humphrey Ocean.
£120 for one session. £200 if booked with the Chris Wilkinson RA's life-drawing session. Includes all materials, light refreshments and a drinks reception.
Priority booking for Friends opens at 10am on Wednesday 20 June 2018. Booking opens to the public at 10am on Friday 22 June 2018.
Short courses
Executive Master in Cultural Leadership
Open evening
● Fully booked
● Cancelled
Monday 15 October 2018
6 — 8pm
The Life Room, RA Schools, Piccadilly
Meet Dr Anna Dempster, Head of Academic Programmes, for an informal evening focusing on the RA’s new educational offer, the Executive Master in Cultural Leadership.
Free, booking required.
Short courses
Friends and Academicians’ Room members life drawing: weight
Evening session
● Fully booked
● Cancelled
Tuesday 23 October 2018
6.15 — 9.15pm
The Sir Hugh Casson Room, The Keeper's House, Royal Academy of Arts
An exclusive opportunity for Friends and Academicians’ Room members to enjoy monthly life-drawing sessions in the Sir Hugh Casson Room, designed to be both rewarding and fun. This month’s session concentrates on representing weight.
£50. Includes a drinks reception and all practical materials. Friends and Academicians’ Room members only.
Short courses
How to build, prime and paint a canvas
Weekend-long practical course
● Fully booked
● Cancelled
-
27 October 2018, 10.30am — 5.30pm
-
28 October 2018, 10.30am — 5.30pm
The Clore Learning Centre, Burlington Gardens, Royal Academy of Arts
Led by award-winning painter and figurative artist Andy Pankhurst, this practical course will teach the traditional techniques used to build and prepare a canvas, as well as how to use oil paints to paint from life.
£480. Includes all materials, lunch and a wine reception at the end of the first day.
Short courses
Painting set free
Weekend-long practical course
● Fully booked
● Cancelled
-
3 November 2018, 10.30am — 5.30pm
-
4 November 2018, 10.30am — 5.30pm
The Clore Learning Centre, Burlington Gardens, Royal Academy of Arts
Artist Virginia Verran leads a course focused on experimenting with oil paint, using light, transparency and fluidity of expression to explore creative responses to paintings on postcards.
£480. Includes all materials, lunch and a wine reception at the end of the first day.
Short courses
Drawing and painting inventively
Five-week practical evening course
● Fully booked
● Cancelled
-
7 November 2018, 6.30 — 9.30pm
-
14 November 2018, 6.30 — 9.30pm
-
21 November 2018, 6.30 — 9.30pm
-
28 November 2018, 6.30 — 9.30pm
-
5 December 2018, 6.30 — 9.30pm
The Life Room, RA Schools, Royal Academy of Arts
Artist Emyr Williams explores inventive approaches to drawing and colour painting. Each week will present a new set of challenges that connect painting to drawing in unforeseen ways while building confidence and technique.
£480. Includes all materials, light refreshments and a drinks reception at the end of the final session.
Priority booking for Friends opens at 10am on Wednesday 20 June 2018. Booking opens to the public at 10am on Friday 22 June 2018.
Short courses
Executive Master in Cultural Leadership
Open evening
● Fully booked
● Cancelled
Wednesday 7 November 2018
6 — 8pm
Wolfson British Academy Room, 6 Burlington Gardens, Royal Academy of Arts
Meet Dr Anna Dempster, Head of Academic Programmes, for an informal evening focusing on the RA’s new educational offer, the Executive Master in Cultural Leadership.
Free, booking required.
Short courses
Drawing: the essentials
Weekend-long practical course
● Fully booked
● Cancelled
-
10 November 2018, 10.30am — 5.30pm
-
11 November 2018, 10.30am — 5.30pm
The Life Room, RA Schools, Royal Academy of Arts
Study the fundamentals of drawing in this back-to-basics practical course. Participants will work from especially selected objects and male and female life models to explore line, tone, perspective, scale, measuring and foreshortening.
Price: £420 Includes all materials, lunch and wine reception at the end of the first day.
Short courses
Drawing and painting: from the essential to the sensual
Five-week practical evening course
● Fully booked
● Cancelled
-
12 November 2018, 6.30 — 9.30pm
-
19 November 2018, 6.30 — 9.30pm
-
26 November 2018, 6.30 — 9.30pm
-
3 December 2018, 6.30 — 9.30pm
-
10 December 2018, 6.30 — 9.30pm
The Clore Learning Centre, Burlington Gardens, Royal Academy of Arts
This practical course will guide participants through the formal aspects of drawing and painting, to provide a foundation for developing their own language of self-expression.
£480 Includes all materials, light refreshments and a drinks reception at the end of week 5.
Short courses
Sketching into painting
Weekend-long practical course
● Fully booked
● Cancelled
-
17 November 2018, 10.30am — 5.30pm
-
18 November 2018, 10.30am — 5.30pm
The Clore Learning Centre, Burlington Gardens, Royal Academy of Arts
This intensive weekend course will take as its starting point the Klimt / Schiele exhibition, with particular focus on Gustav Klimt’s use of preparatory sketches in the design of his paintings and friezes.
£420. Includes all materials, lunch and wine reception at the end of the first day.
Short courses
Contemporary art valuation
Two-day art business course
● Fully booked
● Cancelled
-
17 November 2018, 10am — 5pm
-
18 November 2018, 10am — 5pm
Wolfson British Academy Room, 6 Burlington Gardens, Royal Academy of Arts.
Anna Dempster and Anna Lipskaya return to lead a weekend course on art valuation. The course offers practical insights into one of the most opaque aspects of the art world, focused on the exciting sector of contemporary art.
£540. Includes all materials, light refreshments, lunch and a wine reception at the end of day one.
Short courses
Friends and Academicians’ Room members life drawing: surface form
● Fully booked
● Cancelled
Tuesday 20 November 2018
6.15 — 9.15pm
The Sir Hugh Casson Room, The Keeper's House, Royal Academy of Arts
An exclusive opportunity for Friends and Academicians’ Room members to enjoy monthly life-drawing sessions in the Sir Hugh Casson Room, designed to be both rewarding and fun. This month’s session concentrates on surface and form.
£50. Includes a drinks reception and all practical materials. Friends and Academicians’ Room members only.
Short courses
Learning to draw: from pencil to pixel to iPad
Weekend-long practical course
● Fully booked
● Cancelled
-
24 November 2018, 10.30am — 5.30pm
-
25 November 2018, 10.30am — 5.30pm
The Life Room, RA Schools, Royal Academy of Arts
In a contemporary update to the venerable legacies of drawing from life and from antique casts, this course explores both traditional media and Apple’s iPad Pro and Apple Pencil technologies.
£420 Includes all materials, lunch and wine reception at the end of the first day.
Short courses
Origins of painting: from cave to Cleopatra
Weekend-long art history course
● Fully booked
● Cancelled
-
24 November 2018, 10am — 5pm
-
25 November 2018, 10am — 5pm
General Assembly Room, Burlington House, Piccadilly
This weekend course, led by antiquities expert Judith Nugée, explores the rich and sophisticated origins of painting in the ancient world.
£420. Includes all materials, light refreshments at the beginning of each day and wine reception at the end of day one.
Short courses
Nuda Veritas: the pleasure of collage
Weekend-long practical course
● Fully booked
● Cancelled
-
1 December 2018, 10.30am — 5.30pm
-
2 December 2018, 10.30am — 5.30pm
The Clore Learning Centre, Burlington Gardens, Royal Academy of Arts
Using the Klimt / Schiele exhibition as a starting point, this two-day mixed media course led by artist Sadie Hennessy will explore themes inspired by the erotic image.
£360. Includes all materials, lunch and a wine reception at the end of the first day.
Short courses
Connoisseurship: who painted what, when and how to tell
Two-day short course
● Fully booked
● Cancelled
-
1 December 2018, 10am — 5pm
-
2 December 2018, 10am — 5pm
Wolfson British Academy Room, 6 Burlington Gardens, Royal Academy of Arts
Following the stellar success of his previous courses, renowned art historian and dealer Dr Bendor Grosvenor returns to the Royal Academy of Arts to lead an intensive weekend course focusing on connoisseurship – relevant for art lovers, collectors and art-world professionals.
£540. Includes all materials, light refreshments, lunch and a wine reception.
Short courses
Preparing to paint a portrait
Weekend-long practical course
● Fully booked
● Cancelled
-
26 January 2019, 10.30am — 5.30pm
-
27 January 2019, 10.30am — 5.30pm
The Clore Learning Centre, Burlington Gardens, Royal Academy of Arts
Explore the preparatory methods used by Gustav Klimt and Egon Schiele and develop ideas for a portrait painting in this practical course, led by former President of the Royal Society of Portrait Painters Robin-Lee Hall.
£420. Includes all materials, lunch and a wine reception at the end of the first day.
Short courses
Tots to teenagers: representations of childhood in Western Art
Two-day art history and theory course
● Fully booked
● Cancelled
-
16 February 2019, 10am — 5pm
-
17 February 2019, 10am — 5pm
Wolfson British Academy Room, 6 Burlington Gardens, Royal Academy of Arts
This unconventional art history course led by expert Sophie Oosterwijk offers unique insights into the history of childhood through its presentation in Western art.
£420. Includes all materials, light refreshments at the beginning of each day and wine reception at the end of day one.
Short courses
Small-scale sculpture
Weekend-long practical course
● Fully booked
● Cancelled
-
23 February 2019, 10.30am — 5.30pm
-
24 February 2019, 10.30am — 5.30pm
The Clore Learning Centre, Royal Academy, Burlington Gardens
This course encourages participants to explore the meaning of sculpture in both a personal and a practical sense, using a diverse range of non-traditional art materials, techniques and objects to create unique small scale pieces.
£420. Includes all materials, lunch and a wine reception at the end of the first day.
Short courses
Paper manipulation and 3D assemblage
Weekend-long practical course
● Fully booked
● Cancelled
-
16 March 2019, 10.30am — 5.30pm
-
17 March 2019, 10.30am — 5.30pm
The Clore Learning Centre, Burlington Gardens, Royal Academy of Arts
In this exciting weekend-long course, led by award winning artist Sumi Perera RE, participants will be taught the properties and principles of paper, learning the diverse practical methods involved in manipulating paper to make three-dimensional models that can contract and expand.
£420. Includes all materials, lunch and a wine reception at the end of the first day.