Summer School

The Wilhelmina Barns-Graham Summer School has been run by Fife Contemporary since 2012. The aim of the Summer School is to encourage an interest in post-school art education and activity by engaging the next generation of artists. This is done through hands-on workshops delivered by practising artists, and short presentations from the artists about their career story and creative journey.

The Summer School Programme

The Summer School has been developed and refined over the years. The current programmes is run in partnership with three schools in Fife to establish Summer School “Hubs”, The students from neighbouring schools visit the hub schools for a full day in the art classroom attending art workshops and talks delivered by two established local artists. These three days are designed to be intensive, immersive and inspiring for the young students to attend.

Hub Workshops

Each Summer School Hub hosts a day of workshops. In recent years activities have included cyanotypes, clay sculpture, plaster casting, character design, printmaking, textile design and more.

“I learnt that we are all artistically different.” Summer School attendee, 2024

Art School Day

All students who attend the hub days are then invited to an Away Day at Duncan of Jordanstone College of Art & Design in Dundee to experience a day of creative exploration in an art college environment. This day helps demystify the art school experience and gives them more confidence when choosing whether to pursue art and design at a higher level. Students spend the day creating sculptures using simple materials, developing their creative confidence, visualisation, skills and collaborative team work.

Wilhemina Barns-Graham Trust

The Trust was established by St Andrews-born artist Wilhelmina Barns-Graham in 1987. It exists to enhance the reputation and understanding of Barns-Graham as one of Britain’s most significant 20th century artists and through her legacy supports young people and other individuals to fulfil their potential in the visual arts. The Wilhelmina Barns-Graham Trust has supported the Summer School since its inception.

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Support Us

If you would like to help us expand our Summer School programme to more students, please consider supporting us! This could be through sharing what we do with others (social media, word of mouth, or directly to organisations you think could help), by becoming a partner of the Summer School or other programmes, or by donating to us. As a registered charity in Scotland we can claim back Gift Aid on donations from UK tax payers; that’s an extra 25p for every £1 donated!