In Pictures: Prince of Wales makes drawing school first Royal institution since 1956

This article originally appeared on Culture24.

Prince Charles adds charity drawing school to prestigious list started by Royal Academy during 18th centuryClick on the picture to launch

Naming the first arts institution to be given the Royal title since the Royal Ballet School 58 years ago, the Prince of Wales visited the Drawing School’s main campus, in Shoreditch, meeting students and artists and promising a growing inclusivity “regardless of background and circumstance.”

An independent charity set up in 2000, the school is the only one of its kind in Britain. More than 1,000 students are taught in its studios around London each week.

“I feel very proud that we have come this far since we began,” said Catherine Goodman, the school’s Co-founder and Artistic Director, who oversees programmes ranging from postgraduate scholarships to tutelage of schoolchildren and more than 250 annual drawing courses for the public.

“I’m more and more persuaded of the need for a Drawing School as a permanent part of the UK’s educational resources. There isn’t another one in Europe, and we are being sought out by students from all over the world.”

A donation from the Weston family, who own the Selfridges chain, allowed Goodman and her colleagues to open Drawing School Central this summer, a 3,000-square foot studio space on London’s Oxford Street.

“It is my firm belief that drawing is one of the most direct ways of engaging with the world,” said Prince Charles.

“Like music and dance, it needs to be taught and practised throughout an artist’s life.”

The Royal Academy became the first institution to gain the prestigious title in 1768, followed by the Royal College of Music in 1882, the Royal College of Art in 1896 and the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art in 1920.

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Source: http://www.culture24.org.uk//art/painting-and-drawing/art507663-in-pictures-prince-of-wales-makes-drawing-school-first-royal-institution-since-1956