The King's Foundation School of Traditional Arts

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The King's Foundation School of Traditional Arts

We specialise in teaching, researching, and promoting the practice and theory of the traditional arts

12/09/2026

A kilim is a traditional flat-woven textile created by interlacing warp (vertical) and weft (horizontal) threads. Known for its vibrant colours, bold geometric motifs, and expressive patterns, kilim weaving is both a highly skilled craft and a distinctive form of textile art.

In this course, we explore a new approach to traditional weaving by using story as our inspiration. Through colour, pattern, texture, and composition, participants will explore how a narrative can be translated into a woven textile, creating a contemporary interpretation of this timeless tale.

The course invites participants to consider weaving not only as a craft, but also as a language through which stories, emotions, and cultural memories can be expressed and preserved.

Click here for more information and to book: https://schooloftraditionalarts.org/course/woven-stories-weaving-a-kilim-carpet/

11/09/2026

Immerse yourself in the vivid colours, wondrous landscapes and anthropomorphic forms in Safavid and other Islamic miniature paintings. Explore Mughal and Chinese influences that synthesised along the Silk Road. This course, Water, will focus on lakes, rivers and seas in Islamic miniature paintings, beautiful washes, and spiralling waves.

We will look at beautiful underlying washes and the spiralling twists in water as well as unique painted water in miniature painting. Participants will produce their own painted rivers and seas to use as paintings in their own right or as part of other miniatures.

Click here for more information and to book: https://schooloftraditionalarts.org/course/elements-of-persian-miniature-painting-water/

10/09/2026

This workshop introduces participants to the traditional craft of Islamic gypsum carving. Students will cast a 20 × 20 cm gypsum panel using a silicone mould, learn about the history and significance of gypsum in Islamic architecture, and transfer either a geometric or biomorphic design onto their panel.

Through step-by-step demonstrations and guided practice, participants will carve their own design using traditional techniques. By the end of the workshop, each student will leave with a finished hand-carved gypsum panel and an introduction to this historic craft.

Click here for more information and to book: https://schooloftraditionalarts.org/course/introduction-to-traditional-islamic-gypsum-carving/

09/09/2026

This course explores the creation of a collaborative illuminated “painted tapestry” inspired by the narrative structure and visual language of the Bayeux Tapestry and the ornamental richness of Romanesque medieval manuscripts. We will take our inspiration from the Bayeux Tapestry, which will be on view in the United Kingdom for the first time in almost 1000 years.

While the original tapestry recounts a historical battle, this course reinterprets its rhythmic procession of riders as a symbolic pilgrimage, transforming the narrative into a contemplative journey.

Working on vellum, students will learn traditional techniques associated with manuscript illumination, including careful drawing, vellum preparation, the application and burnishing of gold leaf, and painting with historically informed pigments. Particular attention will be given to the stylised treatment of horses and figures, decorative borders, and symbolic ornament inspired by Romanesque manuscript traditions such as those seen in the Lindisfarne Gospels and the Book of Kells.

Students will be encouraged to work with historically informed materials, including natural pigments. Where appropriate, the traditional blue pigment derived from woad will be used in the painting process, reflecting the use of this plant-based dye in the Bayeux Tapestry and introducing students to the material heritage of medieval colour.

The final work will bring together all gilded vellum panels to form a single collaborative illuminated tapestry. By reinterpreting the compositional principles of the Bayeux Tapestry through the symbolic language of pilgrimage, the cycle of time, and the decorative traditions of Romanesque manuscripts, the course encourages students to engage deeply with traditional artistic practices while contributing to a shared narrative artwork.

In addition to the week of learning, students will have complimentary admission to the lecture, The Making of the Bayeux Tapestry, on Thursday 26 November 2026. Registered students for this course are required to confirm their attendance.

Click here for more information and to book: https://schooloftraditionalarts.org/course/a-gilded-pilgrimage-reimagining-the-bayeaux-tapestry/

08/09/2026

Muhaqqaq is one of the principal scripts of Arabic calligraphy and one of the great scripts associated with the writing of the Qur’an. Distinguished by its clarity, majesty and beauty, it reached remarkable artistic refinement in the hands of great masters such as Ibn al-Bawwab, Yaqut al-Musta‘simi and Ahmed Karahisari.

This specialised workshop will introduce participants to the history and artistic principles of Muhaqqaq, exploring the features that set it apart from Thuluth through selected visual examples from splendid Qur’anic manuscripts.

Click here for more information and to book: https://schooloftraditionalarts.org/course/masterclass-muhaqqaq-script-history-style-practice/

03/09/2026

Please join us for our triennial exhibition of the work of current research students and alumni of The King’s Foundation School of Traditional Arts.
Prompted by the theme of Light and Darkness, the show includes recent work exploring creation, emanation and reintegration through engagement with form, colour, pattern and symbol.

📅 2 – 21 October 2026
🕛Varies, see our website for timings
🎫Admission is free to all, no booking required.
📍 The Garrison Chapel, Chelsea Barracks, 8 Garrison Square London, SW1W 8BG

More information at: https://schooloftraditionalarts.org/exhibitions/exhibition-from-darkness-to-light-from-light-to-darkness/

31/08/2026

Happy Summer Bank Holiday! The School is closed today, Monday 31 August. We hope you're enjoying the sunshine and making the most of the long weekend.

Images: Details of paintings by Samuel Palmer
Pistil Mawddach, North Wales
The Weald of Kent
Tintern Abbey at Sunset
View from Rook's Hill, Kent

19/08/2026

During a five-day workshop at The King's Foundation School of Traditional Arts, students were introduced to egg tempera painting by tutor David Cranswick. Egg tempera as a medium was widely used by Renaissance artists in Florence.

Learning through the study of master paintings allows us to connect with the wisdom and craftsmanship of the past. By working with traditional materials and methods, students became part of a living artistic tradition, using these timeless foundations to inspire new and creative forms of expression today.

11/08/2026

Applications are open for a new traditional arts diploma programme launching this October at the Naqsh School of Crafts in Tashkent, Uzbekistan.
This project is a collaboration between the King’s Foundation School of Traditional Arts and the Uzbekistan Art and Culture Development Foundation.

For more information about the two-year, full-time programme and how to apply, please visit: https://schooloftraditionalarts.org/outreach-programmes/tashkent-uzbekistan/

04/08/2026

We kick off this year’s Geometry Summer School with a lecture by Safoura Zahedi offering a rich and informative overview that sets the stage for exploring the monuments, decorative arts, and geometric designs featured throughout the programme.

Information about the Summer School, detailed session descriptions and a timetable are on our website.

https://schooloftraditionalarts.org/course/geometry-summer-school-2026/

Address

19-22 Charlotte Road
London
EC2A3SG

Telephone

+442076138500

Website

https://schooloftraditionalarts.org/

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