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 course
Stolen! How, when and why?
Ten-week art history and theory course
● Fully booked
● Cancelled
9 October — 11 December 2018
Next session: 20 November 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 wine reception at the end of session 5 and session 10.
Short course
Drawing and painting inventively
Five-week practical evening course
● Fully booked
● Cancelled
7 November — 5 December 2018
Next session: 21 November 2018
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 course
Drawing and painting: from the essential to the sensual
Five-week practical evening course
● Fully booked
● Cancelled
12 November — 10 December 2018
Next session: 19 November 2018
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 course
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.
Booking for Friends opens at 10am on Wednesday 20 June 2018.
Short course
Learning to draw: from pencil to pixel to iPad
Weekend-long practical course
● Fully booked
● Cancelled
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24 November 2018, 10.30am — 5.30pm
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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.
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 course
Origins of painting: from cave to Cleopatra
Weekend-long art history course
● Fully booked
● Cancelled
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24 November 2018, 10am — 5pm
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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 course
Nuda Veritas: the pleasure of collage
Weekend-long practical course
● Fully booked
● Cancelled
-
1 December 2018, 10.30am — 5.30pm
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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 course
Connoisseurship: who painted what, when and how to tell
Two-day short course
● Fully booked
● Cancelled
Saturday 1 December 2018
10am
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 course
Michelangelo: approaches to drawing the figure
Five-week practical evening course
● Fully booked
● Cancelled
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21 January 2019, 6.15 — 9.15pm
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28 January 2019, 6.15 — 9.15pm
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4 February 2019, 6.15 — 9.15pm
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11 February 2019, 6.15 — 9.15pm
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18 February 2019, 6.15 — 9.15pm
The Life Room, RA Schools, Piccadilly
To coincide with the Bill Viola / Michelangelo exhibition, participants will explore approaches to drawing the figure with practicing artist and past president of the Royal Society of Portrait Painters, Robin-Lee Hall.
£480. Includes all materials, light refreshments and a drinks reception at the end of the final session.
Short course
The history of sculpture
Ten-week art history and theory course
● Fully booked
● Cancelled
-
23 January 2019, 6.15 — 8.15pm
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30 January 2019, 6.15 — 8.15pm
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6 February 2019, 6.15 — 8.15pm
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13 February 2019, 6.15 — 8.15pm
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20 February 2019, 6.15 — 8.15pm
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27 February 2019, 6.15 — 8.15pm
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6 March 2019, 6.15 — 8.15pm
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13 March 2019, 6.15 — 8.15pm
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20 March 2019, 6.15 — 8.15pm
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27 March 2019, 6.15 — 8.15pm
The Life Drawing Room, Royal Academy Schools
Join international scholars for a ten-week series on the history of sculpture and explore how artists make use of a range of styles, techniques and materials to create three-dimensional objects, from ancient civilisations to the present day.
6.15–8.15pm each week (registration from 6pm). £540 for full course, £320 for weeks 1–5 OR weeks 6–10.
Short course
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, refreshments and a wine reception at the end of the first day.
Short course
Friends and Academicians’ Room members: Life drawing – modelled drawing
Drawing evening session
● Fully booked
● Cancelled
Tuesday 29 January 2019
6.15 — 9.15pm
The Sir Hugh Casson Room for Friends, The Keeper's House, Royal Academy of Arts, Piccadilly
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 working with blocks of tone.
£50. Includes a drinks reception and all practical materials. Friends and Academicians’ Room members only.
Short course
The vogue of vanitas and mortality
Ten-week art history and theory course
● Fully booked
● Cancelled
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5 February 2019, 6.30 — 8pm
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12 February 2019, 6.30 — 8pm
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19 February 2019, 6.30 — 8pm
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26 February 2019, 6.30 — 8pm
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5 March 2019, 6.30 — 8pm
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12 March 2019, 6.30 — 8pm
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19 March 2019, 6.30 — 8pm
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26 March 2019, 6.30 — 8pm
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2 April 2019, 6.30 — 8pm
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9 April 2019, 6.30 — 8pm
The Benjamin West Lecture Theatre, Burlington Gardens, Royal Academy of Arts
Following the RA’s sold-out course last year, international artists, curators and art world experts will return to explore both aesthetic and philosophical themes around the transience of life and their use in contemporary art.
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 wine reception at the end of session 5 and session 10.
Short course
Tots to teenagers: representations of childhood in Western Art
Two-day art history and theory course
● Fully booked
● Cancelled
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16 February 2019, 10am — 5pm
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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 course
Small-scale sculpture
Weekend-long practical course
● Fully booked
● Cancelled
-
23 February 2019, 10.30am — 5.30pm
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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 course
The art of poetry and the poetry of art
Weekend-long art history and creative writing course
● Fully booked
● Cancelled
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23 February 2019, 10am — 5pm
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24 February 2019, 10am — 5pm
General Assembly Room, Royal Academy of Arts
In this creative writing course, participants are invited to join leading poets, writers and artists in exploring the history of the rich relationship between art and poetry, as inspiration for writing their own poems about works in the Academy’s galleries.
£420. Includes all materials, light refreshments at the beginning of each day and wine reception at the end of day one.
Short course
Life drawing: the nude and the ideal
Five-week practical evening course
● Fully booked
● Cancelled
-
25 February 2019, 6.15 — 9.15pm
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4 March 2019, 6.15 — 9.15pm
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11 March 2019, 6.15 — 9.15pm
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18 March 2019, 6.15 — 9.15pm
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25 March 2019, 6.15 — 9.15pm
The Life Room, RA Schools, Piccadilly
Drawing inspiration from the Renaissance Nude exhibition at the RA, this practical and historical drawing course explores the nude as a motif by focusing on drawing from antiquity to the contemporary.
£480. Includes all materials, light refreshments and a drinks reception at the end of the final session.
Short course
Friends and Academicians’ Room members: Life drawing – finding the balance
Evening session
● Fully booked
● Cancelled
Tuesday 26 February 2019
6.15 — 9.15pm
The Sir Hugh Casson Room, The Keeper's House, Royal Academy of Arts, Piccadilly
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 expressing balance.
£50. Includes a drinks reception and all practical materials. Friends and Academicians’ Room members only.
Short course
Friends and Academicians’ Room members: Life drawing – the illusion of space
Evening session
● Fully booked
● Cancelled
Tuesday 12 March 2019
6.15 — 9.15pm
The Sir Hugh Casson Room, The Keeper's House, Royal Academy of Arts, Piccadilly
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 creating the illusion of space.
£50. Includes a drinks reception and all practical materials. Friends and Academicians’ Room members only.
Short course
Paper manipulation and 3D assemblage
Weekend-long practical course
● Fully booked
● Cancelled
-
16 March 2019, 10.30am — 5.30pm
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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.
Short course
A buyer’s guide to print
Weekend-long art business course
● Fully booked
● Cancelled
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16 March 2019, 10am — 5pm
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17 March 2019, 10am — 5pm
Wolfson British Academy Room, 6 Burlington Gardens, Mayfair, Royal Academy of Arts
With over 30 years’ experience of running the London Original Print Fair, Helen Rosslyn introduces the fascinating world of prints and printmaking, considering both how they are made and tips for collecting and enjoying prints.
£420. Includes a complementary ticket for The Original Print Fair 2019; light refreshments at the beginning of each day and wine reception at the end of day one.
Short course
Art crime: the myth vs the reality
Weekend-long art history and theory course
● Fully booked
● Cancelled
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6 April 2019, 10am — 5pm
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7 April 2019, 10am — 5pm
Wolfson British Academy Room, 6 Burlington Gardens, Royal Academy of Arts
This weekend-long course explores this gripping world of art crime including looting and theft, forgeries and vandalism, drawing on real cases and exploring the difference between myth and reality.
£420. Includes all materials, light refreshments at the beginning of each day and wine reception at the end of day one.
Short course
Trial, error and transformation: creativity in painting
Weekend-long practical course
● Fully booked
● Cancelled
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6 April 2019, 10.30am — 5pm
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7 April 2019, 10.30am — 5pm
The Clore Learning Centre, Burlington Gardens, Royal Academy of Arts
In this practical art course, revitalise your artistic practice by making use of trial, error and transformation to unlock your creativity and develop your painting.
£480. Includes all materials, light refreshments at the beginning of each day and wine reception at the end of day one.