Galleries & Arts Organisations - Engagement Programmes
Scroll down to find out about engagement programmes, opportunities, youth programmes and exhibitions offered by the following galleries and arts organisations: Whitechapel Gallery, Chisenhale Gallery, Auto Italia, Bow Arts, A Team Arts Education, The Prince's Foundation, Royal Drawing School, Peer, National Portrait Gallery, The Wallace Collection, Tate, Autograph, The Photographers' Gallery, Goldsmiths CCA, Saatchi Gallery, Hayward Gallery, October Gallery,
For over a century, the Whitechapel Gallery has premiered world-class artists from modern masters such as Pablo Picasso, Jackson Pollock, Mark Rothko and Frida Kahlo to contemporaries such as Sophie Calle, Paul Noble, Thomas Struth, Sarah Lucas and Mark Wallinger.
With beautiful galleries, exhibitions, artist commissions, collection displays, historic archives, education resources, inspiring art courses, Cafe/Bar and Bookshop, the Gallery is open all year round, so there is always something free to see.
The Whitechapel Gallery works closely with teachers and schools to develop engaging learning projects. Discover our exhibitions, join workshops, download teachers’ resources or find out more about our projects.
What is contemporary art all about?
The Whitechapel Gallery Youth Programme is open to people 15 – 24 and gives young adults the chance to explore contemporary art, meet creative professionals and peers, and open up career paths into the sector.
Sign up
Join the Youth mailing list to be kept up to date with forthcoming events.
Click on the images below to take you to the Whitechapel Gallery information on creative Careers.
What's on at the Chisenhale Gallery, founded by artists. The same experimental vision and spirit of possibility that changed an empty veneer factory and brewery warehouse into an art gallery guides our work today. We commission and produce contemporary art, supporting international and UK-based artists to make their most ambitious work to date by pursuing new directions in their practices. We are committed to our audiences having access to the energy and ideas of an ever-expanding artist community.
Chisenhale Gallery has an award winning, 38-year history as one of London’s most innovative forums for art. With a reputation for identifying new artistic talent, we believe in making cultural impact through working with artists and learning from our neighbours. We develop ideas with artists over a one- to two-year incubation period, from concept to completion.
Research and public discussion are central to Chisenhale Gallery’s Engagement Programme, which is informed by artistic practice and acts as a site for collective learning. The programme includes a series of talks and events devised in collaboration with each commissioned artist and local school and community partnerships. The programme creates opportunities for audiences to discuss themes that recur throughout the gallery’s Commissions Programme, and address key social, political and formal questions raised by each artist’s work.
Chisenhale Gallery's Schools’ Programme 2020-21 has been made possible through the generosity of Headline Supporter Goodman Gallery. With additional support from the Schools' Programme Supporters' Circle.
ARCHIVE - engagement
https://chisenhale.org.uk/event/creative-careers-day/
https://chisenhale.org.uk/programmes/a-sense-of-place/
From 2019 – 2021 Chisenhale Gallery worked in partnership with The Institute of Contemporary Arts, BBC Arts and Arts Council England to present New Creatives, a series of commissioning opportunities for emerging artists aged 16 - 30, who work with audio or moving image.
Commissioned artists present their work in a dedicated showcase at the ICA and their work may also be selected to be broadcast on television and radio under BBC Introducing Arts, on BBC iPlayer or BBC Sounds.
Bow Arts is an educational arts charity that provides affordable creative workspace for a community of over 400 artists, makers and creatives.
Bow Arts manages 12 different studio sites across London, many of which deliver public art programmes alongside. The Nunnery Gallery is run from their HQ on Bow Road, a free public gallery with a local focus, championing the work of emerging artists and uncovering local history and heritage. Situated in a unique building on the ground floor of a former nineteenth-century convent, complete with gothic arches and the original tiled floor, the Nunnery Gallery is surrounded by over 100 of Bow Arts' artist studios.
Presenting a diverse programme, exhibitions aim to appeal to a wide audience with a particular focus on site-responsive work and works that explore the history and themes of the local area. Events accompany all shows, including panels, workshops and film screenings, creating debate and discussion around art in the community. There's also the beautiful Nunnery Café on site, offering AllPress coffee and excellent, locally-made cakes, pastries and hot meals.
Bow Arts’ award-winning Learning Department works with over 100 schools, delivering an innovative programme of workshops, projects and training.
The Alexander McQueen relationship with A Team Arts Education, has been cemented through one of the educational out-reach programmes of workshops which Sarah Burton has been running with in-house design team members throughout the pandemic. While other Alexander McQueen educational schemes connect with colleges and university students nationally, the association with A Team Arts Education forges a practical link with younger people locally through its dynamic and free art-led school holiday and Saturday programmes. “At a time when schools and local authorities are reducing their arts budgets and provision, we still need the arts to help bring about a positive recovery and come together after the Covid-19 pandemic. Working with Alexander McQueen will provide inspiration, hope and opportunities to an area that has established links to the fashion and textiles industries that are now hidden through layers of history and a changing urban landscape. The collaboration will help the arts to flourish in a positive way for young people and the wider community of East London.” – Sarbjit Natt, Director, A Team Arts Education.
A Team Arts Education C.I.C. is based at The Brady Arts and Community Centre at 192-196 Hanbury Street, E1 5HU. It sits in the heart of the community, building trust with families and local communities to enable young people and their parents to get a broader view into education in the creative sector, careers, and education support at college and university level. The focus on art began in 2009, led by Berni Yates, Outreach Practitioner at Central Saint Martins, part of the University of Arts London, in order to provide structured educational introduction to young people. It reaches students in schools from the ages of 11 to 18. Many young people are not able to take up GCSE or A levels in creative subjects. A Team Arts Education works with them to help them build portfolios so they can apply to an art Foundation course and further their knowledge on the sector and pathways to achievement in higher education.
https://www.alexandermcqueen.com/en-us/a-team-arts-education-3
The work of The Prince’s Foundation is inspired by The Prince of Wales’s philosophy of harmony: that by understanding the balance, the order and the relationships between ourselves and the natural world we can create a more sustainable future.
The Prince’s Foundation offers a diverse range of innovative and inspiring education and training programmes for all ages and backgrounds, from traditional arts and heritage craft skills, to architecture and design, science, engineering, horticulture, wellbeing and hospitality. Programmes take place within and beyond the charity’s sites, both nationally and internationally.
EDUCATION
The Prince’s Foundation offers a diverse range of innovative and inspiring education and training programmes for all ages and backgrounds. Explore our expansive curriculum below.
Explore courses on offer at The School of Traditional Arts
Find out more about our Building Craft Programmes
Explore FUTURE TEXTILES Introductory programmes through to internationally recognised training in luxury apparel.
THE PRINCE’S FOUNDATION DIPLOMA YEAR
Is A NEW COURSE IN FINE AND APPLIED ART - The Prince's Foundation Diploma year is a dynamic skills-based course with five days’ teaching per week. The small cohort’s size of up to 60 students allows for targeted one-to-one teaching in a supportive and creative environment. Located at Trinity Buoy Wharf, the programme benefits from its creative and inspiring neighbours in its Thames-side location.
The programme is unique in its focus on the interplay between traditional skills, innovation and creativity – all essential requirements for successful progression to Higher Education and careers in the creative industries.
Raven Row is a non-profit contemporary art exhibition centre in Spitalfields. It has been constructed within eighteenth century domestic rooms, onto which 6a architects have added two contemporary galleries, and it stands on the part of Artillery Lane that was known as Raven Row until 1895.
Raven Row’s programme is intended to appeal both to a specialist audience and a broader, curious public. It is led by a desire to test art's purpose outside the market place. It exhibits diverse work of the highest quality, often by established international artists, or those from the recent past, who have somehow escaped London's attention.
Students aged 15 to 18 are eligible for our Young Associates programme, whilst those aged 10 to 14 can join our weekly Drawing Clubs. Both fee-paying and scholarship places are available on these programmes.
Young Artists Online is a new programme of courses students can take part in from home, with live and interactive tuition. This is an alternative option for those uncertain about returning to ‘in-person’ teaching or where there is a phased or delayed return to some of our venues. A Young Artist Toolkit of art activities is also available to access by annual subscription. This provides over 50 hours of planned drawing activity and instruction that can be undertaken at a time that suits you.
Our programme for young artists offers a unique opportunity to students from all backgrounds, who want to develop their drawing skills. Students aged 15 to 18 are eligible for our Young Associates programme, whilst those aged 10 to 14 can join our weekly Drawing Clubs. Both fee-paying and scholarship places are available on these programmes.
YOUNG ARTISTS
Summer Term bookings are open!
Our programme for young artists offers a unique opportunity to students from all backgrounds, who want to develop their drawing skills. Teaching, inspiration and encouragement is provided by professional artists who are alumni of our postgraduate programme.
Auto Italia is an artist-run organisation and project space that commissions new work, bringing together international networks of artists committed to the development of emerging practices and discussions in contemporary art.
We support early and mid-career artists to develop discourse, active research and experimental projects. This focuses on collaborative models for producing and distributing artwork, and is made possible through the development of relationships and conversations with artists, grassroots networks, and a growing peer network of artist-led organisations in the UK and internationally.
Young Artists Programme is a free to access programme of workshops and mentoring opportunities delivered by artists, designers, technologists and filmmakers for young people ages 14 to 18 living in the London Borough of Tower Hamlets.
Want to Get Involved?
Taking part in the Young Artists Programme introduces you to experimental art and design projects with hands on experience exploring your ideas in new and ambitious ways. You’ll meet young people from schools across Tower Hamlets and gain access to:
Art & Technology Workshops: explore your ideas outside of school by getting stuck in with experimental art and technology projects. Past projects have included experimental filmmaking using mobile phones, digital photography, live composition using dj equipment, music-making, virtual reality and more.
Gallery Tours: come and explore a world of small and independent art galleries that are right on your doorstep! You will get to see exciting art projects right across Tower Hamlets, including small commercial galleries, non-profit organisations and artist-led spaces.
Portfolio Workshops: get one-to-one feedback on your university applications from artists and members of the team at Auto Italia. If you’re feeling stuck or just want another opinion we can help – from tutorials on how to put your portfolio together, advice on interviews and applications and feedback on coursework and sketchbooks.
Working with Schools
Auto Italia works in collaboration with local secondary education partners across the borough with support from partners Tower Hamlets Art Teachers Network, Tower Hamlets Art and Music Education Services and Tower Hamlets Council. We are always welcome to new schools who would like to get involved.
Core outputs of the Young Artists Programme include:
In depth contact and collaborations with leading international artists and critically acclaimed exhibitions and artists’ projects at our project space
Introduction to cutting-edge creative media with focused training, support and mentoring for participants from artists, technologists and technical specialists
Digital showcasing opportunities for work produced in the workshops and as part of GCSE and A Level coursework on the Auto Italia website
Increased understanding of how studying art and design at GCSE and A Level can lead to a range of exciting career opportunities both in and out of the creative industries
Support for participants to explore their own creative career possibilities and futures through discussions and mentoring on higher education courses and art school journeys
Tailored guidance on university applications, portfolio feedback and interview preparation
Get Involved
If you would like to get involved with our workshops then we would love to hear from you. We welcome questions and enquiries from pupils, parents and guardians and school partners. Contact info (at) autoitaliasoutheast.org.
PEER is an independent arts organisation that has evolved from the ground up over the past twenty years, putting down deep roots within the socially, culturally and economically diverse area of Hoxton in East London.
PEER’s core ethos is to embed its activities into the local community and to offer and promote the highest quality art as being part of daily life. We have done this through our ambitious programme of projects working with nearly 150 artists, writers, curators and educators over two decades.
PEER’s big aspirations and modest size play key roles in securing our place within the broader London art ecology. We offer both emerging and established artists the opportunity to test bold ideas in an intimate environment that stimulates experimentation and dialogue.
Peer offers various opportunities for supporting educational settings on their Artsmark journey and enabling children and young people to access a high-quality arts and cultural education. https://www.peeruk.org/artsmark
PEER Ambassadors is a six-month, free, collaborative, and creative programme offering paid work-experience at PEER, alongside a professional development and learning programme. The Ambassadors also work closely with an artist in residence throughout 2023-24, as part of PEER Notices.
Autograph’s mission is to enable the public to explore identity, representation, human rights and social justice through work produced by artists who use photography and film.
We believe that visual representation is a powerful force for change. Autograph creates ground-breaking exhibitions, sharing the work of artists who use photography and film to highlight issues of identity, representation, human rights and social justice. We’ve been doing this since 1988.
ABOUT LEARNING AND COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT
For 30 years Autograph has engaged with diverse groups and communities to explore issues of identity, representation, social justice and human rights through photography and film.
At our gallery and in the community, we create welcoming spaces for people to share experiences, make artwork and become inspired by contemporary photographers and our unique archive.
We offer a range of tailored activities including tours, workshops and long-term engagement projects, suitable for schools, higher education and community groups. For more information on workshops and resources: Autograph-Learning
Free film school for Tower Hamlets residents.
Next courses run November - December 2022, January
- March 2023 and April - June 2023.
https://www.fourcornersfilm.co.uk/whats-on?type=training
National Portrait Gallery’s programmes for schools
During the Gallery’s closure for major refurbishment we encourage schools to make full use of our Digital Resources and explore the Collections online. To keep up-to-date with our activities and opportunities during closure including the Inspiring People Project, as well as plans for our re-opening in 2023, please sign up to our teacher e-newsletter for more information.
When Tate first opened its doors to the public in 1897 it had just one site, displaying a small collection of British artworks.
Today there are four major sites Tate Modern, Tate Britain both in London, Tate Liverpool and Tate St Ives which show the national collection of British art from 1500 to the present day and international modern and contemporary art, which includes nearly 70,000 artworks.
Tate Collective part of the Tate opportunities and resources for young people ages 16 to 25.
This gives young people access to £5 exhibition tickets, free events, creative opportunities and discounts across Tate?
Sign up for a free Tate Collective account. Check out benefits, exhibitions, exclusive events, resources and careers. https://www.tate.org.uk/tate-collective
COURSEWORK GUIDES
You have art coursework and need to research artworks for it. Where do you start? How do you find relevant inspiration? How have other artists approached the themes?
Our thematic coursework guides provide ideas and inspiration to get you started. Try our 'Have A Go!' section at the bottom of our guides for activities to keep you motivated!
https://www.tate.org.uk/art/student-resource/exam-help
The Photographers' Gallery was founded in London by Sue Davies opening on 14 January 1971, as the first public gallery in the United Kingdom devoted solely to photography.
Develop is an ongoing series of talks, events, and workshops for anyone aged 14–24 years interested in learning more about photography related career opportunities.
> Join our Young People (14–24) mailing list to get the latest news on Develop events.
The Wallace Collection is an internationally outstanding collection which contains unsurpassed masterpieces of paintings, sculpture, furniture, arms and armour and porcelain.
LEARN WITH THE WALLACE COLLECTION
We enable people of all ages to develop a greater understanding and enjoyment of art.
Through a wide range of opportunities that combine discussion, observation and creative activities, our online programmes aim to inspire primary and secondary students and teachers, children and their families, adults and young people, and our diverse communities.
We offer accessible events for children and adults with SEN, and for D/deaf and visually-impaired people. Our extensive digital outreach programmes connect with older people living in residential care as well as children and adults in long-term hospital care. And our growing range of downloadable resources support self-directed learning in the classroom and at home.
Why not book a lively digital session for your school or learn more about our collections through an online talk or course?
Located on the campus of Goldsmiths, University of London, Goldsmiths Centre for Contemporary Art is London’s newest contemporary arts institution, and open to everyone. Hosting world-class exhibitions by international artists, and providing a space for established and emergent practices, the institution aims to enhance Goldsmiths’ reputation for excellence and innovation in the arts.
