Welcome to The Art Academy

We offer something distinct and increasingly rare: the best of an old-school atelier combined with the vibrancy and diversity of a contemporary art school.

Founded in 2000 by artist Tanya Russell, The Art Academy blends skills based art education with contemporary processes and theory to help students produce a rich, sustainable practice. We believe a portrait should be as conceptually considered as an installation and an installation as carefully crafted as a portrait.

Our unique hands-on teaching approach offers the highest number of contact hours of any higher education art school in the UK across their academic courses.

We offer art courses for all levels – from a BA or Fine Art Foundation, to evening and weekend short courses in Painting, Drawing, Sculpture, Printmaking and much more. We also provide support with bursaries and special education needs, and our community outreach programmes help make art education accessible in Southwark and the surrounding area.

As an art education charity, we’re passionate about championing art for all. We offer student bursaries that we designate from our own funds – we put any surplus back into supporting students and undertaking outreach work.

Rob Pepper
Principal

Our Mission

To enable people to realise their creative potential by developing their artistic skills and insights.

Our Principles

We’re an artist-led institution: we provide courses designed and delivered by expert, practising artists, for the artists of the future.

We believe in the value of art education: we believe art education has the power to be transformative, because we all benefit from the unlocking of individual creative potential: it impacts positively on personal wellbeing, to societal development and economic health.

We champion art for all: we believe everyone should have access to high-quality art education, so we provide a range of courses to suit all levels of skill and commitment.

We’re a vibrant, artistic community: our community goes beyond our students and tutors, to encompass local artists and the institutions we work with. We host regular exhibitions and run outreach programmes for people of all ages and backgrounds, creating a richly diverse and stimulating backdrop for study and self-expression.