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students working on a collaborative cardboard art piece

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A Week in the Life of Art School

This five-day interactive programme invites senior pupils from schools across North East Scotland to engage. The programme aims to support the transition from school to university, and provides a practical insight to what students experience in their first year of study at Gray’s School of Art.

'A Week in the Life of Art School' is created in collaboration with ACCESS ÌÇÐÄvlog¹ÙÍø,ÌýEngage,ÌýMobile Art School,Ìý and The Scott Sutherland School of Architecture & Built Environment. It is fully funded by Gray’s School of Art, Robert Gordon UniversityÌýand Access to Creative Education Scotland.

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About the week

Running from Monday 3 August to Friday 7 August 2026, the funded programme offers a range of creative workshops across both 2D and 3D disciplines. Applicants can create their own timetable, selecting half-day (2-hour) or full-day (4-hour) workshops, with the option to attend one workshop or multiple workshops across the week, subject to availability.

On Friday 7 August, participants will collaborate to curate and install work created throughout the week. The programme concludes with an exhibition, Mini Revel, and participants are encouraged to invite friends and family to celebrate their work.

Applicants must be at least 16 years old at point of joining on 3 August 2026. Spaces are limited and subject to availability. Applicants who meet wider access criteria will be prioritised.


Workshop timetable

2 hour workshops

Offered once or twice daily. Participants may join a single workshop or multiple workshops throughout the week. A lunch break is scheduled at 12:00 – 13:00 for those attending both morning and afternoon workshops.

AM workshop

  • Registration: 09:50 - 10:00
  • Workshop: 10:00 - 12:00
  • Departure: 12:00 - 12:15

PM workshop

  • Registration: 13:00 - 13:15
  • Workshop: 13:15 - 15:15
  • Departure: 15:15 - 15:30

4 hour workshops

Longer, in-depth workshops that run across both morning and afternoon sessions with the same group. A lunch break is included from 12:00 – 13:00.

AM workshop

  • Registration: 09:50 - 10:00
  • Workshop: 10:00 - 12:00

Lunch break

  • 12:00 - 13:00Ìý

PM workshop

  • Registration: 13:00 - 13:15
  • Workshop: 13:15 - 15:15
  • Departure: 15:15 - 15:30
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About the workshops

Freestyle Fabric Screen Printing

Monday 3 August, 10:00 - 12:00 or 13:15 - 15:15

Explore polychromatic printing; a screen-printing technique used in the textile industry to create hand-drawn effects with dyes. Freestyle paint directly onto screens, then transfer your design to fabric using print paste. Experiment with brushes, sponges, and spray bottles to create different marks and textures. Once curing is complete, you’ll get to take home your hand-painted A3 fabric at the end of the week.

Experimental Life Drawing: A Figurative Focus

Monday 3 August, 10:00 - 12:00 or 13:15 - 15:15

Join this playful life drawing workshop featuring a live (clothed) model. Throughout the session, you’ll observe the human figure in a variety of poses and be encouraged to respond creatively; sketching with different mediums and experimenting with line, form, colour, and tone to express movement. Acrylic paint will also be part of the artistic exploration.
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Playful Forms: An Exploration in Jewellery Design

Monday 3 August, 10:00 - 15:15

Explore playful design in this hands-on workshop inspired by jewellery designer Aubin Stewart’s creative practice. Begin in one of our studio spaces, using bold paper cut-outs to experiment with shape, colour, and composition. Develop your ideas into prototypes, then bring them to life as wearable accessories in our Jewellery Workshop using Perspex and aluminium. Along the way, you’ll learn essential techniques—cutting, drilling, and hammering—while transforming reimagined offcuts into vibrant, one-of-a-kind pieces.

Poster to Pin: Communication Design Workshop

Tuesday 4 August, 10:00 - 12:00

Co-create the visual identity for your own Mini Revel exhibition,Ìýwhich will take place at the end of the week, workingÌýcollaboratively to shape its overall look and feel.ÌýDesign and produce a range of promotional materials, includingÌýposters, title cards, and pin badges, using playful, experimentalÌýapproaches that combine found imagery, typography, and collage.
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Stretch Your Own Canvas

Tuesday 4 August, 10:00 - 12:00 or 13:15 - 15:15

In this workshop, you’ll learn how to stretch your own canvas from start to finish, developing practical skills in both woodworking and canvas preparation. Working collaboratively, you’ll cut and assemble wooden stretcher bars to build a frame, then measure, stretch, and staple the canvas by hand. Each participant will create a canvas approximately 300mm × 450mm, ready to use as the foundation for a future painting or mixed media artwork.

Designing Spaces: Introduction to Interior Design

Tuesday 4 August, 10:00 - 15:15

Step into the world of Interior Design and take on the role of aÌýdesigner for the day as you respond to a client brief. In this designÌýstudio workshop, you’ll explore how designers combine creativity,Ìýfunctionality, spatial planning, and safety to shape effectiveÌýspaces. You will create a mood board and a 3D concept model toÌýshowcase the new skills you have learned.
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Thinking Through Making: Ceramics Design Workshop

Tuesday 4 August, 10:00 - 15:15

In this workshop, you’ll explore thinking through making by responding to a client brief focused on homeware design. Through hands-on studio practice, you’ll engage with product design and ceramics using slab building techniques, alongside prototyping with cardboard. The work produced can contribute to your portfolio for applying to an undergraduate degree at Gray’s School of Art.

Press Moulding with Paper Clay

Wednesday 5 August, 10:00 - 12:00

In this workshop, you will work with paper clay and plaster,Ìýlearning press moulding techniques and exploring mould-making using plaster cast moulds. Working collaboratively,Ìýyou will contribute to a live community art project involvingÌýfish forms while developing skills in observation, sculpturalÌýthinking, and material processes within a supportive, hands-onÌýstudio environment.
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Sculpting with Polystyrene

Wednesday 5 August, 10:00 - 12:00 or 13:15 - 15:15

In this workshop, you’ll learn to sculpt and carve polystyrene, transforming your sketches into 3D sculptures. Gain hands-on experience with tools like handsaws, electric carving knives, and learn to operate a bandsaw; equipment used for cutting various materials. At the end of the week, your sculptures will be featured in our ‘Mini Revel’ exhibition at Gray’s.

Please note, some parts of the workshop will take place outdoors.

Design and Build a Lighting Product: Paper Light Workshop

Wednesday 5 August, 10:00 - 15:15

Take on a creative design challenge and create a lighting piece toÌýtake home. Working from a client brief, you’ll explore emergingÌýdesign trends for 2027, develop ideas through sketching, and learnÌýthrough making as you design and build your own piece usingÌýpaper, card, and wood. This fast-paced, hands-on workshop offersÌýinsight into how designers think, experiment, create, and make.

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The Art of Media: Writing, Filming & Editing

Wednesday 5 August, 10:00 - 15:15

In this workshop, explore script writing, visual storytelling, andÌýon-camera presentation. Get hands-on with teleprompters, videoÌýsoftware, and green screens while building communication skills.ÌýCheck out our TV studio, respond to a news brief, and together, learnÌýabout editing and production techniques. Ideal for aspiring mediaÌýand journalism creators, or any creative - learn to tell compellingÌýstories and promote yourself and your work across platforms.

The Big Build: Collaborative Sculpture Workshop

Thursday 6 August, 10:00 - 12:00 or 13:15 - 15:15

You’ll work collaboratively to design and build a large-scaleÌýsculpture as part of a group project. Starting with your ownÌýsketches, you’ll explore how to translate two-dimensional ideasÌýinto three-dimensional form using a cardboard construction kitÌýcalled Makedo. The final sculpture will be shown as part of theÌýMini Revel Exhibition at Gray’s later in the week.

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Creating a Digital Portfolio: Photography Techniques

Thursday 6 August, 10:00 - 12:00 or 13:15 - 15:15

If you're considering applying to Gray's School of Art, join thisÌýworkshop to learn how to photograph your work as part of yourÌýportfolio preparation. Bring a selection of your own artworkÌýor portfolio, and together as a group, we'll explore variousÌýtechniques to capture and showcase some of your work in aÌýdigital format. You're encouraged to bring your own mobile phoneÌýor camera to capture your pieces.

The Business of Fashion

Thursday 6 August, 10:00 - 15:15

Step into the role of a fashion buyer for the day and discoverÌýhow global fashion trends evolve into collections within theÌýever-changing fashion industry. In this workshop, you’ll exploreÌýhow fashion buyers understand customers, predict trends, andÌýbalance creativity with commercial thinking.

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Exhibition Installation

Friday 7 August, 10:00 - 13:00

Following your participation in workshops throughout the week,Ìýyou are invited to be part of the installation team, who togetherÌýwill install artwork in preparation for an exhibition called the ‘MiniÌýRevel’.

All artworks must be ready to install at Gray’s School of Art for 10:00 Friday 7 August 2026.

Mini Revel Exhibition

Friday 7 August, 14:00 - 15:00

As a workshop participant you are invited to exhibit artwork from theÌýprogramme as part of a ‘Mini Revel’. This exhibition is a celebration ofÌýyour week in the life of art school and is a chance to meet differentÌýparticipants.ÌýYou are encouraged to invite friends and family to celebrate yourÌýexhibition at Gray’s School of Art.

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Applications

Applications close 21 June 2026, apply using our online form:

Apply for A Week in the Life of Art School 2026