Post Experience Programmes

Three-year Icon Painting Programme

Icons in Orthodox Christianity are liturgical, designed to offer a means of communion between heaven and earth. Traditional icons suggest a material world transfigured, radiant with divine light and love, seen not only through bodily eyes but also through the ‘eye of the heart’.

Although icons are primarily associated with the Orthodox Church, the demand for them has grown steadily over the past decades. The School of Traditional Arts established its Icon Painting course in 2009 to offer aspiring iconographers a structured course that provides a foundation for continuing in icon painting and meeting this growing need.

Course structure

What the course offers

The 3-year, part-time course provides a foundation in egg tempera techniques, the theology of the icon and business skills relevant to the work of the iconographer. It is taught by Aidan Hart, a professional iconographer, with over 40 years of experience and author of Techniques of Icon and Wall Painting.

The course encourages thorough understanding of

• iconographic form through monochrome studies
• the Orthodox Church’s theology of the icon
• egg tempera techniques for icon panel painting
• techniques for pigment and panel preparation and gilding
• business skills

Students who successfully complete the course will receive a certificate of completion outlining what they have achieved.

When

The course runs from October to September, for three academic years. Students gather seven times a year for intensive three-day sessions, usually at the end of the month. The next 3-year programme begins in October 2025.

Where

The classes are held in the beautiful town of Shrewsbury, Shropshire.

Course Structure

In each of the three years, there will be seven residential sessions. The sessions are held on or near the last week of the months of October, November, February, March, May, June, and September. Each of these is three full days, Monday through Wednesday from 9.00am to 7.00pm including the evening meal
(except on Wednesdays which finish at 5.00pm).

Students are also given homework studies, which are expected to take at least four hours a week. Only those ready put this time into home studies need apply, since the course is intended for serious students of the demanding work of icon painting.

About the Course Director and Senior Tutor

Aidan Hart has been a full-time iconographer for over forty years, as an icon and fresco painter, carver and mosaicist. He has works in more than twenty-five countries of the world and in many cathedrals and monasteries.

Aidan has published three books, Techniques of Icon and Wall Painting, widely regarded as the foremost work on the subject, Beauty Spirit Matter, a collection of essays, and Festal Icons: History and Meaning, all published by Gracewing, UK.

The Certificate

This course is among the most in-depth icon painting programmes available in the English-speaking world. However, being only 63 days in total, the programme is at the level a foundation course and not of sufficient duration to train students to full professional standard.

While this is not a university accredited programme, all students who complete the course and produce the requisite number of studies and icons receive a “Certificate of Completion” issued by the School of Traditional Arts.

The Certificate of Completion will say:

Icon Painting Certificate: This certificate confirms that (name of student) has successfully completed the three-year Icon Painting Programme offered by The King’s Foundation School of Traditional Arts in accordance with the programme descriptors and criteria set out overleaf.

Attendance

Attendance at all studio sessions and lectures is expected.

Entry Requirements and Course Fees

Requirements

The course is open to all applicants. There are no academic requirements. Applicants should indicate their interests and suitability for the course in the online application and through the artwork included in the submitted portfolio (see below).

Course Fees and Further Costs

Course fees are £2850 per year, payment being due at the beginning of each academic year. Fees cover tuition, lunches, and refreshments, as well as evening meals on all but the last day (Wednesday) of each residential.

Annual fees are non-refundable, except in exceptional circumstances at the discretion of the School. No award can be made until all fees are paid.

Further Costs including Field Trip

Accommodation costs are not included in the course fees. Students are responsible for finding their own accommodation. Local accommodation is in the region of £40/night and upwards. Students must be able to self-finance the fees, travel, artists’ materials and accommodation costs for the three years. Artist material costs average at around £400-£500 per year.

In September of their second-year students are expected to participate in a five-day field trip to Thessaloniki, Greece. The costs to be met by students are: return flight to Thessaloniki; group booked hotel around £70/night (minimum 5 nights); subsidised food about £140 for five days.

Scholarships

At present there are no bursaries of scholarships to offer for the course. Students can seek bursaries elsewhere.

All applicants must be able to demonstrate that they can self-fund fees and costs.

Applying

Key Contact – Aidan Hart, Course Director and Senior Tutor

Preparing to Apply

To allow sufficient time and attention for each student, only 12 places are available on the course.  Since demand is usually high, a selection process is used. Selection for interviews is based on each applicant’s portfolio and written application. The final selection is based on the outcome of the interviews.

References

Applicants will be required to provide a reference. This should be someone who knows the applicant and their artistic work and can speak about their suitability and potential to complete the course. Referees may wish to comment on the applicant’s qualifications, experience, motivations, and character.

It is the applicant’s responsibility to download the reference form here.

Applicants should then forward the form to their referee. On completion of the form the referee should email it directly to the tutor. The applicant should ensure that their referee forwards the reference so that it arrives before 20 April 2025.

Portfolio

Applicants are required to submit six to ten (or more if they wish) good digital images of their artwork that are representative of their ability. These can be drawings, paintings, or icons. Portfolios will be assessed based on the applicant’s artistic ability, so showing a variety of works is useful. All digital image files should include the applicant’s name, and the portfolio should be accompanied by a list detailing the contents.

Portfolios should be forwarded to the tutor, Aidan Hart. Large files can be sent via WeTransfer or similar. Portfolios should be received no later than 20 April 2025.

Please contact the tutor if receipt of your portfolio is not acknowledged by email within three days.

What happens after I apply?

From all applicants, about twenty people are selected for interviews. Finally, twelve will be offered a place on the programme. All applicants will be notified by the end of April 2025 whether they have been accepted for an interview, at which stage an interview slot will be offered.

Interviews are likely to be held in the beginning of May at The King’s Foundation School of Traditional Arts, 19-22 Charlotte Road, Shoreditch, London, EC2A 3SG. If it is not possible for the applicant to attend in person, then interviews may be conducted virtually.

Within a week of the interview, interviewees will be informed whether they have been accepted onto the course. Successful applicants will then be required to sign a letter accepting the offer and confirming that they are aware of the fees and the other costs and are able to cover them for all three years.

Apply now and Further Inquiries

Applicants should ensure they complete each section of the online form fully. Incomplete forms will not be accepted. Please include your photo.

An application fee of £30 must be submitted with the application form.

If you have any questions, you may email the tutor.

One-Year Post Experience Course in the Traditional Arts

This course derives from the MA programme at the School and students follow the first year of the MA. The programme includes completion of modules in: Traditional Painting Techniques; Architectural Crafts; Ceramic Craft, Letterforms, and Islimi; Traditional and Islamic Geometry. Students may also wish to follow the Contextual Studies course and join on a field trip.