Our community Art School has over 800 enrolments a year, we run over 20 regular weekly classes and there are around 200 students coming through our doors each week. The Art School is housed on the ground floor of the Northlight Art Studios cooperative and offers the opportunity to study alongside the many practising artists who also work in the building.
Our welcome extends to all, including absolute beginners. Starting an art class can be daunting for some people and we hope to create a friendly, supportive atmosphere that is so important for building up confidence.
Giving yourself some time for your own creativity can be very beneficial to mental wellbeing. Learning new skills and being absorbed in the present moment both contribute to that. As does meeting people and becoming part of a group. The Art School has developed quite a community feel with many connections being made and nourished over the years.
As well as courses there is so much more to enjoy. There is art library where you can leaf through our many reference books and journals with a cup of tea, or borrow our books to browse at home. We run occasional gallery visits and art school trips, and a program of Summer Schools. In recent years we have taken groups to Amsterdam, Berlin, Prague and Budapest and Glasgow. As well as weekly classes there is a range of one day or full weekend workshops each term. We hold a number of diverse exhibitions and artist talks throughout the year to enrich our programme and a have a fantastic student show every July as part of Hebden Bridge Open Studios.
Northlight Art School opens its’ doors to your life experience, welcomes you into a creative world and helps you see the familiar in a fresh and exciting way. Life can be busy and you may just want to enjoy a break for a session a week. For those with a little more experience of time, there are plenty of further opportunities to progress, challenge yourself and develop your technique. Some students have one to one tutorials and others have gone on to degree or post-graduate study and others now have studios of their own.
Northlight Art School is located on our ground floor and has wheelchair access and disabled toilet facilities. Should you have any enquires about access, please get in touch with us.
We receive no external core funding and so we are free to set our own artistic direction, free of bureaucracy and free to respond to the ideas and needs of our students, staff and the surrounding area. Every penny is used to sustain and improve provision, the result is a happy, challenging and fulfilled learning and working environment. In recent years we have added a dedicated ceramics facility, coffee lounge and the fast growing Art Library. In 2014, the development of Northlight Artspace provided a new venue for more classes, exhibitions and events. In 2020 we have used the time that we were closed due to Covid 19 to plan and develop and enhance our teaching space with new sinks and clean down area, a new office location, flooring and much more.
We could not have done all this without the support of our students, staff, volunteers and our community and so we say a big thank you to you all!
Northlight Art School - FAQs
These Frequently Asked Questions are for non – Covid 19 times, please see our special Covid-19 guidelines for out Summer 2021 courses.
Q. Do I need to bring anything with me to my course?
A. We provide all the basic materials, equipment and kiln firings within our course prices. There may, however, be small additional charges for very specialist materials such as high-quality watercolour paper, printmaking papers and canvases we can sell to you at cost price. We encourage our students to build up their own kit if appropriate.
Q. How many people will be on my course?
A. We generally need at least eight people for a course to run. The maximum number will be about fifteen people and so there will be lots of contact with your tutor. Dates of courses are subject to change and courses may be withdrawn if they are not viable, such as not enough people. During this difficult Coronavirus pandemic, our class sizes have been reduced to give more space.
Q. How do I enrol on a course?
A. As well as our online shop you can book a place over the phone or via email, please see our Contact Us section for details.
Q. What if the course I want to do is full?
A. We run on a term-by-term basis and we have many returners - so some courses do get full very quickly. However, we'll always do our best to fit you in or at least get you on the waiting list for places. Please do contact us even if the course says 'FULL' as it is often possible to start a course mid-term.
Q. Do I have to pay the full cost of the course upfront?
A. We request full payment for courses in advance. Please ask for options to spread your course fees if it helps to make payment easier for you.
Q. What is your cancellation Policy
Cancellation policy:
· Full cash or credit refund offered if a course is cancelled at least 14 days before the start of a course
· Full amount credit offered if a course is cancelled 7-14 days before the start of a course
· 50% credit offered if a course is cancelled within 7 days of the start of the course.