Fine and Decorative Arts in the V&A - adult education class

There is no substitute for encountering works of art and design in person. While photographs and digital images can introduce us to great objects, it is only through direct observation that we truly appreciate their scale, craftsmanship, materials, and presence.

This engaging course, both taught in the classroom and at the Victoria and Albert Museum in South Kensington, invites you to study and also experience the history of art and design through close study of original objects at the V&A, one of the world’s leading museums of art, design, and material culture.

Open to all adult learners, the course is ideal whether your interest in art and the decorative arts is personal, professional, or academic. Together we will explore how objects were made, how they were used, and what they reveal about the societies that produced them. Through this object-based approach, you will gain rewarding insight into what historians often describe as material culture: the tangible evidence of human creativity across time.

Guided by your tutor, Viv Lawes, you will learn to recognise defining characteristics of major moments in art and design history, encounter the work of significant artists and craftspeople, and consider the cultural and philosophical ideas that shaped key objects in the museum’s collections.

Our journey ranges widely across time and media—from the medieval delight in richly patterned surfaces and the desire to fill space with meaning, to the Renaissance humanism embodied in Michelangelo’s David and its roots in Platonic philosophy, and onward to the powerful reaction against industrialisation that inspired Bernard Leach and the modern studio-pottery movement. Along the way, you will develop practical skills in looking, analysing, and interpreting objects for yourself.

Above all, this course offers the pleasure of shared discovery in one of London’s most inspiring cultural settings. By the end of the programme, you will have gained not only new knowledge of art and design history, but also greater confidence in engaging directly with museum collections and the stories they tell.

The standard format of each session involves one hour of instruction in the classroom at Imperial followed by one hour spent at the V&A focusing on a different period, style, or artistic idea. The course also includes one full session at the Wallace Collection (usually in week 5 - details to be announced by your tutor nearer the time). Please note double sessions will take place on 5 and 19 June 2026 running from 12:00 - 16:00.

No prior knowledge is required—only curiosity, openness, and an enjoyment of learning.

Term dates

•  Summer Term: week beginning 20 April 2026 until week ending 19 June 2026 (no class on 12 June)

Any questions?

For course content enquiries: Contact the course tutor, Viv Lawes at v.lawes@imperial.ac.uk 

Class recordings

These classes are not recorded.

Imperial certificates

This course has no exams or assessments, so you can focus on enjoying your learning. Regular attendance may also lead to the award of an Imperial attendance certificate. (T&Cs apply).