Amazing Art classes, Amazing instructor, quality work professional work structure. I will…read morerecommend these classes

My lifelong dream was to learn from the masters and only when I registered with ARA was that dream…read morefully realized. I am now approaching portraiture with fearless enthusiasm as I learned from the best.

Hands down, the BEST art school in Toronto, if not Canada…read more The school is founded on the simple belief that everyone can draw because it is a craft, a technical skill, that can be learned, like measuring with a ruler. The reality is that this is true, anyone can learn to draw and it's that simple. No bells. No Whistles. Aside from the fact that you will learn to draw beautiful realist pieces, this school is run by genuine artists with decades of experience and real heart. The atmosphere is warm and welcoming, with flexible hours to accommodate working professionals and students. You will begin with Bargue drawings. Once you have completed this portion of your studies (it could take 1-2 years depending on your skill and time) you will move into oil painting. Also, there are weekly life drawing classes utilizing charcoal. If I could go back in time, I think I would skip any consideration of a fine art degree or enrollment at a school like OCAD, because you can easily graduate from these programs in four years and still be unable to draw. But at the ARA, if you have time, patience and passion, you will learn to draw, no matter who you are.

I had a wonderful experience this summer at iLac Toronto, dream building. My teachers were very…read moregood, especially Ronan, Justin and Michael.

"The teacher's class is excellent, he is very attentive and helpful and solves all my doubts. My…read moreclassmates are really cool, I have nothing to complain about, I just have to thank you. I like school very much and I am happy with my performance. Thank you so much." (Beatriz Venancio - Daniel PM2)

I've taken several classes at this location and they have a fantastic team!…read more I took 2 pottery courses and 1 sewing class and plan on going back and getting a membership for pottery. The class environment is great and the instructors are amazing! Thomas who taught my first course is so much fun and he clearly loves what he does. It's a bright and open space with lots of light, they provide everything required during the course and can help you create something specific if you had that in mind while taking the class. They also run many classes for children and the place is usually brimming with kids and laughter. It truly has a very positive vibe. They have new instructors who have recently joined for pottery and they too are equally supportive and great to learn from.

I held a surprise birthday at this venue and I couldn't be happier with how it turned out! The…read moreevent staff is just amazing, they were very flexible with what we needed to set up on the day of. If they did not give us this flexibility we would have been very stressed and strapped for time. The venue space is beautiful with a nice decorative door and beautiful windows surrounding the space. The lighting in the space is optional; there is nice intimate industrial lighting over the bar (tons of our guests commented on the beautiful setup of the bar!) and also nice industrial lighting throughout the space. There is also the option of using the brighter lights that are throughout the venue. The sound system and drop down screens in the place are great as well and easy to set up. Overall, this is an amazing event space to have an intimate party (we ended having about 80 people sitting) and will probably be returning in the future! Thank you to everyone at the Richmond Hill Art School :)

best art school ever for kids! my son attends 3rd time already Art Camp at Richmond Hill art…read moreschool and absolutely loves it!

I have no idea about the quality of the education provided within the walls of this art…read moreinstitution. However, if Will Alsop's brilliant design for this gravity-defying skybound rectangle on pencils inspires its students as much as it moves folks like me who pass by, then OCAD is probably turning out geniuses. With Frank Gehry's fantastic new design for the Art Gallery of Ontario just steps away, these blocks are the epicenter of great architecture in Toronto.

My rating is for the quality of EDUCATION offered at OCAD. The average rating discussed overall for…read morethis school is highly elevated by what seems to be a fascination for its ARCHITECTURE, which should not even be a consideration. The original OCA had a well deserved reputation as a art school before 1970, when students actually gained valuable skills and professors believed they should pay attention to their students and offer real training. Sadly at that time, the traditional concept was abandoned in favour of embracing a "free school" format. Teachers, except for a very few, just stopped teaching and became "advisors." If students asked for more, they were told they wanted to be spoon-fed. But this is NOT a graduate school - the students coming into first year do need instruction. There is a serious disconnect that ultimately short-changes the young people who enrol, believing the somehow sustained reputation that the school boasts but does not support.

We really enjoy this program! Going for a few years now and it is a great experience every time…read more Our son loves the teachers I had! Both Christina and especially Andrej are amazing! They are very helpful and provide great advice and feedback. Can't wait to send him back to classes! We are always welcomed to ask questions and we feel so welcomed! Always surrounded by very dedicated staff!

DO NOT GO!! SAVE YOUR MONEY! The 4 month diploma program is a waste of $10,000 dollars and the…read morewebsite advertising this program is full of lies. Admissions promise you things in the program that don't happen such as dialects, instructors who have left years ago (Kenneth McGregor, Joy Juckes, Russell Ferrier) you never learn the Meisner technique, and a mock audition in front of a guest panel of agents and casting directors does not happen (WHICH IS WHAT THEY SAY ON THE WEBSITE UNDER MONTH 4). Watch out for SUSAN she lies constantly to suck you into this program and get your money!! She is the main admin and often goes by "Lily" which is a made up person to make it seem like more people work there. The main Instructor Andrei is an ego maniac and creates a toxic class environment to be in. He is constantly late, complains, yells at students, wastes class time and will gaslight you constantly. Half of the instructors listed are not present and have left years ago and the other instructors in the program are only there for 1 week or 2... You spend 3 months with Andrej who is mentally unstable, bullies students regularly, makes mickey mouse poor quality demo footage and threatens to leave class if you don't praise him constantly. Other students in previous years have had the same negative experience as I went to some networking events and have met people all saying negative things about the program. ADMISSIONS... HAS done nothing for years!! Because they don't give a shit about the students, the quality of this so called "acting program" or your future in the industry, they just want your money and don't know anything about what's going in class. And if you do reach out to admissions they will do nothing and Andrej will find out what you said because you can't complain anonymously and scream at you for "going behind his back". Lastly. I wanted to say that these 4 months have affected myself and many others mental health with the abuse and lies from Andrei and Susan. This is not an acting program. It's a zoo ran by amateurs who want your money and to belittle your self esteem. Save your $10,000. Spend it wisely. (Update they took down my review by spamming fake reviews) June 7, 2023 - People from 5 years ago or even 1 year ago would not post a review YEARS LATER! All the fake reviews are posted in May 2023, some on the same day. These people are absolutely disgusting because the truth is ugly and they want to bury it with no proper accommodation for those who have been mistreated and lied too.

I took a couple of classes here. It's great. The students and the teachers are great. I'm…read morelooking forward to making sewing a thing in my life. I totally want to try the leather making classes. I did Fundamentals 1 and Fundamentals 2. Both were great. They spend time with you to make sure you're comfortable and show you step by step how to make things!

I absolutely love The Make Den. It is run by a extremely easy going, supportive, fun, and creative…read moregroup of girls. You feel like you're hanging out with friends and then all of a sudden you end up with an end product that you might have thought you'd need a critical and disciplined instructor to create. Nay! You can have fun learning to create and also be quite surprised at what you're capable of at The Make Den. I have done their macrame and leather fundamentals class, and was actually kind of drunk for the macrame class (wine was provided for my group due to the occasion) and still created a work of art. The format of their classes are great too, chunking up classes and projects. It flows nicely and you walk away feeling accomplished with lots of goods to show off. Thank you ladies for bringing some fun to my Tuesday nights! Can't wait for the next class =)