One-on-One Online Course in contemporary art with elena karpilova

for students 9-15 years old

This personalized online program introduces children to the world of contemporary art, develops critical thinking, the ability to analyze works of art, and introduces the basics of academic drawing.
Elena Karpilova, head of the Architectural Thinking School, author and teacher pf the course, curator, and designer, will teach children how to understand contemporary art, look at objects in museums, galleries, and exhibitions from a new perspective and develop an understanding of cause and effect relationships.
Contemporary art speaks about issues of ecology, social inequality, and raises global important questions, going far beyond beautiful decorative objects. Through contemporary art, one can study everything: from history to geography, from science to materials science. That is exactly what we will do.
For those who wish to continue and dive deeper into the subject after the 6 sessions, we will be happy to offer a longer-term format.
The course is taught by Elena Karpilova, founder of the Architectural Thinking School, an official participant of the Venice Architecture Biennale 2025

Elena Karpilova

Art critic, jewelry designer, and curator. She is the founder and head of the Architectural Thinking School for Children, where she also teaches. Co-organizer of the Lisbon Jewelry Biennial. She received her BFA (Bachelor of Fine Arts) degree from the Minsk State Art College named after A. Glebov and an MA (Master of Arts) from the Belarusian State University of Culture and Arts, specializing in Comparative Art. She is the founder of the Minsk Design Week. She is also a writer and content creator for ArtJewelryForum. She is a member of PIN (Contemporary Jewellery Association of Portugal) and AGC (Association of Contemporary Jewellery of Italy). She was a finalist for the AGC Maria Cristina Bergesio Award 2024 and participated in the Lisbon Jewelry Biennial 2024 as curator of the L’étrangère project. She is the founder of Foreign Pavilion and projects curator for the Venice Art Biennale 2024 and Architecture Biennale 2025. In 2021, she was nominated for the Inspire Future Generations Award (Thornton Education Trust) as the Individual of the Year.

Programme

Trial Class + 6 Sessions (each 1.5 hours)

All classes are conducted individually via Zoom. The programme is tailored to each student’s age, level, and interests.

TRIAL

What is contemporary art and where can we see it?

Names we may not know: Otobong Nkanga, Cooking Sections, Forensic Architecture.

01

In what forms does contemporary art exist?

What is an art object or installation? The difference between academic and contemporary art. We learn to draw a cube and a sphere in the academic style. At the same time, we look at the work of world-famous artists who never studied academic art.

02

The main contemporary art festivals in the world

The Venice Biennale, Documenta, Art Basel. What is shown there, how and why. We come up with an art object for one of the Biennale’s themes.

03

Contemporary art and ecology

The work of Danish artist Olafur Eliasson. We invent a glowing object.

04

Contemporary art and food

The work of Thai-Argentinian artist Rirkrit Tiravanija. We create a food-based project for friends and family.

05

Contemporary art and mechanics

The work of Tomás Saraceno and Dutch artist-inventor Theo Jansen. We design a mechanical art object.

06

Women in contemporary art

British sculptor Rachel Whiteread, Yugoslav performance artist Marina Abramović, and Indian artist Shilpa Gupta. We come up with an exhibition project dedicated to the role of women in society.

Knowledge and skills students will gain

Fundamentals of academic drawing
Model making
Introduction to contemporary art
Development of creative and spatial thinking
Introduction to the creative approaches of renowned contemporary artists
Exploration of the most important and well-known contemporary art festivals
Ability to analyze information and formulate independent ideas and conclusions

Fees

All prices are for individual sessions. Only one-on-one learning with the course authors.

trial class

€45

1.5 hours (includes a 10-minute break)

Course

€270

6 sessions, each 1.5 hours

trial class for Two Students

€55

1.5 hours (includes a 10-minute break)

Course for Two Students

€420

6 sessions, each 1.5 hours

To book your individual trial class, please fill out the form