The Prince's Foundation School of Traditional Arts is a school in London which teaches students at the postgraduate degree level, and short open courses and in the community. The school was founded in 2005 by

King Charles III Charles III (Charles Philip Arthur George; born 14 November 1948) is King of the United Kingdom and the 14 other Commonwealth realms. He was the longest-serving heir apparent and Prince of Wales and, at age 73, became the oldest person to a ...

(then

Prince of Wales Prince of Wales ( cy, Tywysog Cymru, ; la, Princeps Cambriae/Walliae) is a title traditionally given to the heir apparent to the English and later British throne. Prior to the conquest by Edward I in the 13th century, it was used by the rulers ...

) as part of

The Prince's Charities The Prince's Charities is a non-profit organisation that has associations with King Charles III. The Prince's Charities, supported by The Prince's Charities Foundation, is based in the United Kingdom and comprises 19 organisations of which Charl ...

group, with the aim "to continue the living traditions of the world's sacred and traditional art forms".

Philosophy

The School is believed to be unique among art schools: although there are many theoretical programmes in western universities at graduate and postgraduate level, there are no colleges apart from the School where the practical skills of the Islamic and traditional arts are taught at this level.Annual Review: 2006-2007, Prince's School of Traditional Arts
The School strives to preserve global traditional arts and traditions under threat of extinction.

Building

Based in the fashionable and artistic area of

Shoreditch Shoreditch is a district in the East End of London in England, and forms the southern part of the London Borough of Hackney. Neighbouring parts of Tower Hamlets are also perceived as part of the area. In the 16th century, Shoreditch was an impor ...

, an average of 25 students work permanently on site, numbers increasing with students studying PhDs and open courses.

History

The School was originally established as the Visual Islamic and Traditional Arts Programme (VITA) at the

Royal College of Art The Royal College of Art (RCA) is a public research university in London, United Kingdom, with campuses in South Kensington, Battersea and White City. It is the only entirely postgraduate art and design university in the United Kingdom. It offe ...

in 1984. It was the brainchild of

Keith Critchlow Keith Barry Critchlow (16 March 1933 – 8 April 2020) was a British artist, lecturer, author, Sacred Geometer, professor of architecture, and a co-founder of the Temenos Academy in the UK. Biography Critchlow was educated at the Summerhill ...

, the Professor Emeritus at the School, who is also the author of several books on

Sacred Geometry Sacred geometry ascribes symbolic and sacred meanings to certain geometric shapes and certain geometric proportions. It is associated with the belief that a god or goddess is the creator of the universal geometer. The geometry used in the des ...

. The Programme transferred to The Prince of Wales' Institute of Architecture in 1993 which subsequently became incorporated into The Prince's Foundation in 2000. The School was initiated as a separate charity of Charles in April 2004. In 2018, the School became a part of the Prince's Foundation, merging with The Prince's Foundation for Building Community, The Prince's Regeneration Trust, The Great Steward of Scotland's Dumfries House Trust. In 2018, works created by The Prince's School and two other charities founded by King Charles were put on display during the Prince & Patron exhibition to mark his 70th birthday.

Postgraduate degrees

Three postgraduate degrees are offered by the school: a Master of Arts (MA), a Master of Philosophy degree (MPhil) and Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.) in arts practice research in the traditional arts. All degrees are awarded by University of Wales Trinity Saint David.

References

External links