The City & Guilds of London Art School is a small-scale, not-for-profit, specialist higher education provider with a history dating back to 1854.
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The Art School specialises in the study of contemporary Fine Art, Historic Carving and the Conservation of cultural artefacts and is launching a BA in the Conservation of Books and Paper this autumn. Committed to championing hand skills and ‘thinking through making’, the Art School offers intensive post graduate, undergraduate and foundation level courses, with the only BA and MA carving courses available in the UK. Teaching is underpinned by an emphasis on material understanding, rigorous art historical research, live projects with industry partners and the exploration of traditional skills alongside experimentation and innovation. We work with students from diverse backgrounds to keep alive endangered skills essential for the conservation of historic artefacts and built heritage, as well as contemporary art, and to promote our subjects through public engagement.
The Art School has an extensive professional network and has partnered with Tokyo University of the Arts, Victoria & Albert Museum, British Museum, Southwark Cathedral, Winsor & Newton, Acme, Michelangelo Foundation and Venice in Peril among others. Its high standards are recognized by the number of foundations and individuals who provide bursaries and scholarships, with 60 of circa 240 students studying full-time receiving financial sponsorship.
The Art School’s Material Matters research platform engages Artists in Residence, as well as Honorary Fellows including the CEO of the Crafts Council and the Head of Collections at the British Museum, along with leading practitioners in the fields of Conservation, Heritage Crafts and Contemporary Art.
Historic Carving at City & Guilds of London Art School
Meet some of our recent wood and stone carving students as they introduce you to their outstanding carving work created on our undergraduate and postgraduate courses.
BA (Hons) Historic Carving – The History of British Architecture with Michael Paraskos
Michael Paraskos delivers a series of lectures entitled The History of British Architecture. During his session, students studying Conservation and Wood and Stone Carving, journey with him through the ages and around London’s wealth of historical buildings.
In this short Zoom chat with Michael, carried out in June this year, he reminds us that only so much of what we know about historical buildings emerges out of speculative thinking. Only by experiencing architecture in person can we meaningfully reflect on how a building worked as a living space at the time of its creation as well as today.
BA (Hons) Historic Carving & BA (Hons) Conservation – The History of Decorative Style with Viv Lawes
Viv Lawes is an art Historian who specialises in the study of carved and craft objects from the European tradition and East Asian contexts. In this short film recorded on Zoom during Lockdown, Viv speaks about the content of her taught sessions and discusses the different methodologies she employs.
Grotesques for St George’s Chapel, Windsor
