City Lit contemporary collage projects 2

About this course

The course examines collage and assemblage in relation to modernist and contemporary art, considering how materials, images, text and objects create meaning. Participants explore both two-dimensional and three-dimensional approaches through techniques including paper collage, mixed-media painting, decoupage, bricolage, installation, construction, image transformation, monoprinting, transfer and wall reliefs. Practical exercises and demonstrations are supported by visual lectures, group discussions and one-to-one tutorials. The course also considers archives, recycling, reclamation, contemporary publishing and the use of mixed media as a means of representation and communication.

What you'll learn

• Apply techniques across mixed-media painting, drawing, collage and assemblage.
• Combine two-dimensional and three-dimensional approaches when developing work.
• Relate material choices and image-making decisions to meaning.
• Contextualise painting, assemblage and collage within modernism and contemporary art.
• Experiment with images, materials and found objects using varied processes and approaches.

Is this course right for you?

The course is open to absolute beginners, intermediate learners and artists. Participants should expect primarily practical work alongside demonstrations, visual lectures, individual tutorials, group discussions and reflection on their own progress.

• Suitable for learners at all levels, including absolute beginners.
• Includes both independent making and group-based discussion.
• Requires engagement with self-reflection and critical consideration of developing work.

Before you go

• Basic studio materials and resources are provided.
• Participants are advised to bring an A5 sketchbook for scraps, experiments, ideas and progress.
• Participants should bring a camera to document their work.
• Learners are advised to bring newspapers, magazines, unusual papers, other mixed-media materials and found objects from home.