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

Join us for a hands‑on workshop where you’ll learn to paint an icon, with St Francis of Assisi as the focus of the works...
24/06/2026

Join us for a hands‑on workshop where you’ll learn to paint an icon, with St Francis of Assisi as the focus of the workshop. A beloved figure known for his humility, compassion, and deep connection to nature, St Francis offers a beautiful subject for exploring the sacred art of iconography.

Using the traditional egg tempera technique alongside the Russian dry‑brush method, you will create a piece that radiates serenity and spiritual grace. This approach uses minimal pigment on the brush and builds the image through fine, delicate layers. As these layers accumulate, a soft, luminous quality emerges, giving the icon its characteristic sense of ethereal light.

Throughout this practical workshop, you will learn to depict St Francis with reverence and precision, including the subtle details of his simple attire that reflect his spirit of humility. You will also be guided through gilding the halo using clay bole and gold leaf.

By the end of the session, you will have both a deeper understanding of this ancient spiritual art form and a completed icon created using traditional methods.

Click here for more information and to book: https://schooloftraditionalarts.org/course/icon-painting-st-francis-of-assisi/

This course introduces students to the art of Zellige, a ceramic tile style found throughout the Islamic world, particul...
23/06/2026

This course introduces students to the art of Zellige, a ceramic tile style found throughout the Islamic world, particularly in Morocco.

Students will be shown a variety of tile-making techniques and create a panel of tessellating geometric tiles typical of Zellige design.

IMPORTANT: Tiles will be ready for collection the following week due to drying and firing time. Students will be notified when they’re ready. If you can’t return (e.g. you don’t live in London), the tutor strongly recommends that you make and fire your tiles on Thursday and collect them on Friday before class ends.

Click here for more information and to book: https://schooloftraditionalarts.org/course/moroccan-ceramic-tiles-zillij/

22/06/2026

Lacquerware is just one part of Brian Zixuan's second-year master’s work. This year, he’s explored a range of ideas, including mathematics and astronomy, painting geometric charts mapping the movement of the sun over London.

We hope you’re enjoying these glimpses into our students’ practices, and we look forward to sharing more at the Degree Show.

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Work by all of our graduates will be on view at the Degree Show this June. Details below and on our website.

📅 30 June - 1 August 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

https://schooloftraditionalarts.org/degree-shows/degree-show-2026/

20/06/2026

We look back on our first atelier course on Indian painting in 2025.

It was an incredible and energetic week; students from around the world gathered in our school in London and were fully immersed in this rich and fascinating tradition together. Through the guidance of international masters and experts of the craft, they experienced many parts of the tradition that were new to them - from working with khariya, a white pigment, and a squirrel hairbrush, to creating shell gold and vasli paper by hand.

Our next atelier will focus on Persian miniature painting this July. We hope to see you for what will be an unforgettable and enriching week.

Click here for more information: https://schooloftraditionalarts.org/course/miniature-atelier-traditions-techniques-in-persian-miniature-painting/

Join us as we explore the vivid colours, wondrous landscapes and anthropomorphic forms of the rocks in Persian miniature...
19/06/2026

Join us as we explore the vivid colours, wondrous landscapes and anthropomorphic forms of the rocks in Persian miniature paintings, which your tutor has specialised in for decades. On this course, we shall pay particular attention to miniatures from the Safavid dynasty, and explore Mughal and Chinese influences that synthesised along the Silk Road.

You will produce your own unique rock formations based on ancient masterpieces. We will look at various paintings, including the greatest masterpiece of Safavid miniature rocks – the Shahnameh of Shah Tahmasp – as well as paintings that span the Islamic world from its origins up to the Mughal and Ottoman Empires. The stylised rock style is broadly similar to both Safavid and Mughal painting and was influenced by Chinese rock styles. We’ll look at examples of Chinese Scholar’s rocks – oddly-shaped rocks – and the relationships to Chinese landscape painting.

By the end of this course, you’ll have started your own miniature painting with the knowledge of key techniques to finish it and started your journey into this fascinating art form.

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

19/06/2026

Birds in Persian painting hold symbolic meaning; they are guardians of the soul, bridging earth and heaven, and represent freedom, love, and the pursuit of higher truths. The Simurgh is a benevolent bird that represents sovereignty and divine presence; the peacock symbolises immortality and paradise, while the hoopoe symbolises wisdom and guidance.

Here, Sana Sanjrani talks about the Conference of the Birds, a poem by Attar of Nishapur, as she paints a small phoenix. Participants of the atelier will paint one bird from a historical manuscript in the session.

Click here for more information and book: https://schooloftraditionalarts.org/course/miniature-atelier-traditions-techniques-in-persian-miniature-painting/

The Agra Fort evolved under the reigns of Akbar, Jahangir, and Shah Jahan, reflecting three generations of architectural...
18/06/2026

The Agra Fort evolved under the reigns of Akbar, Jahangir, and Shah Jahan, reflecting three generations of architectural refinement. Its patterns appear in sandstone carvings, ceramic tile inlays, marble petra dura and delicate jalis, each reflecting a different moment in the empire’s story – from Akbar’s robust grandeur to Shah Jahan’s poetic delicacy.

In this course, students will wander through the fort’s architecture, observing and analysing a range of geometric systems of 4-, 5-, 6-, 10-, and 12-fold symmetries. By now, students will have developed a strong vocabulary of geometric construction and will use this knowledge to identify base grids, repeat motifs, and symmetry groups within the patterns.

We will also study the translation of geometry across materials as found around the fort from carved stone to painted surface. We will observe how scale, depth, and light change the nature of ornament. The course will conclude with exercises on border designs and pattern combinations, showcasing the rich visual rhythm of the Agra Fort.

Images courtesy of Jyotika Purwar.

Click here for more information and to book: https://schooloftraditionalarts.org/course/the-geometry-of-empire-exploring-the-mughal-design-language-in-agra/

As part of the one-year programme at Al Khater House in Qatar, students take part in a course on floral and vegetal patt...
18/06/2026

As part of the one-year programme at Al Khater House in Qatar, students take part in a course on floral and vegetal pattern design. Drawing on the phenomenal collection of the Museum of Islamic Art in Doha, the Nabati course invites participants to engage with with the principles of biomorphic design across time and cultural contexts in Islamic lands.

Through drawing, design development, and watercolour studies, students explore the universal principles that shape traditional arts across cultures, building skills to be applied in their own design work.

16/06/2026

Second-year MA student Li Jingjing approaches working with clay as an ongoing conversation and collaboration with her medium. Through this process, she explores the meaning of life, drawing on her imagination, Chinese philosophy, and the universal order of nature. We’re excited to see the final results at this year’s Degree Show.

____
Work by all of our graduates will be on view at the Degree Show this June. Details below and on our website.

📅 30 June - 1 August 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

https://schooloftraditionalarts.org/degree-shows/degree-show-2026/

14/06/2026

Halleh Mortazavi (.art) is an artist specialising in traditional Persian art. Born in Iran, she grew up in a culture deeply rooted in visual and poetic traditions. Her work explores geometric patterns and traditional motifs using natural pigments, particularly lapis, balancing precision, colour, and ornament while honouring classical heritage.

During the atelier week, Halleh will guide students through the geometric construction of Islimi, a decorative art form that features flowing, biomorphic, and floral patterns. The patterns symbolise the unity and order of nature, and they can be found across surfaces, from walls and ceramics to textiles and manuscripts.

Click here for more information and to book: https://schooloftraditionalarts.org/course/miniature-atelier-traditions-techniques-in-persian-miniature-painting/

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