Contemporary Art Academy provides premium online art education for affordable prices. Having identified the affordability crisis in the traditional art college system, Zavier Ellis and Mathew Gibson co-founded Contemporary Art Academy to make art education accessible to all. From Instructional to Masters levels, all courses are live and capped at just 16 to 20 participants, ensuring maximum engagement for everyone. Artists globally are benefitting from Contemporary Art Academy online art courses.
The academy ethos is drawn from Ellis and Gibson’s high-level experience of running art galleries; curating museum exhibitions; advising prominent art collectors; making and exhibiting; teaching; and running art residency and educational programmes.
With a mission of making premium art education accessible to all, Contemporary Art Academy’s innovative, content-packed courses are offered at genuinely affordable prices and are democratizing art education.
The academy is built on three foundational pillars—making (Personal Practice), researching (Critical Context) and professionalising (Professional Practice), all delivered by a world class faculty of leading artworld professionals who bring vast experience and incredible networks.
Courses are divided into three categories: Development (for practicing artists wishing to develop their work in a critically supportive environment); Discovery (for artists wishing to develop new ways of making and thinking through experimentation); and Instructional Live (for artists wanting to improve their technical skillset).
Bound by generosity, Contemporary Art Academy creates supportive online cohorts that enable artists to become part of a thriving and ever-expanding international community. Contemporary Art Academy is helping artists to grow their networks, experience breakthrough moments, and gain confidence. See our incomparable testimonials to discover the impact Contemporary Art Academy’s courses are having on artists globally.
Register for our courses here. Be the first to know about new courses and initiatives by signing up to our Newsletter. Follow us on Instagram and do email us at office@contemporaryartacademy.com if you have any questions.
Meet the co-founders
Zavier Ellis is an international curator, artist and originator of multiple art-based initiatives. Zavier is founder and director of CHARLIE SMITH LONDON, a curatorial gallery project based in Soho, London that also runs off-site exhibitions in diverse locations. He was co-founder and co-curator of the museum scale exhibition for emerging artists THE FUTURE CAN WAIT, which between 2011 and 2014 was organised in partnership with Saatchi’s New Sensations. In response to recent global events Zavier launched the online work on paper initiative PROJECT PAPYROPHILIA during the COVID pandemic; and the Ukraine Support Pledge with Matthew Burrows MBE to raise funds by selling artwork for the Ukraine Crisis Relief Fund. As an artist Zavier’s work is placed in world class private collections and he has exhibited globally, including museum shows in Austria, Lithuania, Turkey, UK and US. For all activities see Ellis Smith Projects.
Mathew Gibson is the co-founder of Contemporary Art Academy. He is an award-winning artist, educator and project manager. He was Professor of Painting and Foundation Studies at The Savannah College of Art and Design, USA between 2006 and 2008. Between 2012 and 2021 Mathew worked for the biggest art materials manufacturer globally, founding and running the Griffin Art Prize, Elephant Lab residency programme and Elephant Academy. In 2022 Mathew co-founded Contemporary Art Academy with Zavier Ellis.