Beyond the body: From drawing to sculpture summer school

Event information

• Type: Courses: Art making
• Date: 2 September - 4 September 2026
• Tickets: From £486
• Location: The National Gallery
• Address: Trafalgar Square, London, WC2N 5DN, UK
• Official page: https://www.nationalgallery.org.uk/events/beyond-the-body-from-drawing-to-sculpture-summer-school-september-2026

Details

About

Reimagine the human body in this three-day summer school exploring the relationship between clay and drawing.

Be inspired by artists who moved freely between drawing and sculpture in their depictions of the human body, including Michelangelo, Nicolas Poussin, Edgar Degas and Paula Rego. This course treats the body as something imagined as much as observed, shaped by memory, emotion and storytelling as much as anatomy.

Led by artist and educator Jo Conybeare, this course in the Clore Art Studio approaches the body as a process rather than a fixed form. You’ll learn how to move fluidly between drawing and sculpture, constructing and erasing and finished and unfinished forms.

Across the three days, you’ll be led through exercises to help you think about the body with different materials including charcoal, clay, pastel, Conté and oil bar, to experiment with scale, movement, narrative and projection. Working directly from paintings in the Gallery, from images, and from your imagination, the course encourages you to leave space for ambiguity and interpretation, allowing forms to remain open, suggestive and alive.

This summer school is suitable for all levels. No prior experience of sculpture is required. All materials are provided, and your work is yours to take home. Handouts with extra resources will be provided in advance of the sessions.

Suitable for participants aged 18 or over.