The other Drawing Nights are fully booked, but there are still places available for the Drawing Night on 4 November (long pose, full-body tattooed model). Register here:
A few places are also still available for the Life Model Marathon on Monday 2 November, 14:00–19:00:
There are also places available for both Plaster Cast Drawing Marathons:
Monday 9 November, 14:00–19:00:
Sunday 22 November, 11:00–16:00:
NB! For the duration of autumn 2026, the legendary Art Room will relocate to the Helsinki University Museum Flame’s exhibition centre in the University’s Main Building (Fabianinkatu 33, Helsinki), where the temporary exhibition space has been reserved for its activities.
Registration for fall 2026 courses begins on Friday, October 2 at 9:00 AM.
Please check out our
For University of Helsinki students and postgraduate students, free of charge.
Language: English and Finnish.
During autumn 2026, we exceptionally offer only one student course. The course takes place on Tuesdays from 6 October to 8 December, 4:15–7:00 pm. Maximum 16 participants.
Student courses are open only to students and postgraduate students who are registered as present at the University of Helsinki during the same academic term. You will need your student number to register.
Registration opens on Friday 2 October at 9:00 am:
The course is equally suitable for beginners and more experienced participants. Taught by Vappu Rossi, Drawing Master at the University of Helsinki.
PLEASE NOTE! Attendance at the first session on 6 October is mandatory. If you are unable to attend the first session, please let us know in advance so that you do not lose your place on the course.
Please note that the guided tours during drawing excursions may be held in Finnish. Drawing exercises and individual teaching are given also in English.
If the course is full, we recommend registering for the waiting list. You can join the waiting list until the final week of the course.
Please note that during autumn 2026, the Art Room is operating from temporary premises at the University of Helsinki’s Main Building, at the Helsinki University Museum Flame Exhibition Centre. Fabianinkatu 33; enter Flame through the university's main entrance and turn left.
Language: English & Finnish. Open to everyone.
Wednesdays 7 October–9 December 2026, 5:00–7:30 pm. Single-session fee €16 / €10. Taught by Vappu Rossi, Drawing Master at the University of Helsinki.
Detailed dates, content and registration links can be found below.
The Art Room’s open-to-all Drawing Nights are suitable for both beginners and more experienced artists. Each evening has space for 16 participants. You can attend several, all, or just one of the Drawing Nights. No previous experience in life drawing is required. The life drawing and croquis evenings generally alternate from week to week.
Croquis is a full-body drawing made from a live model in a short period of time. At the Art Room’s croquis evenings, you will get a varied introduction to different aspects of croquis drawing. Like life drawing more generally, croquis becomes increasingly rewarding through repetition. For the croquis evenings, please bring your own drawing materials and a pad or sketchbook; a good size for the pad is, for example, A4–A3. Please note the restrictions in autumn 2026: the Art Room is located in museum premises, so dusty materials such as charcoal and dry pastels, as well as liquid colours containing very strong pigments, such as liquid India ink, cannot unfortunately be used at present.
At the Art Room’s life drawing evenings, the focus is on traditional life drawing. Unlike in croquis drawing sessions, the model does not change poses; instead, we draw the same pose in 20-minute sessions throughout the evening. Life drawing is a fascinating and suitably challenging way for artists of all levels to develop coordination between the eye and hand! At the life drawing evenings, paper (half a sheet of litoposter paper) is available from the Art Room. You can borrow drawing materials from the Art Room, but you are also welcome to bring your own paper and materials. Please note the restrictions in autumn 2026: the Art Room is located in museum premises, so dusty materials such as charcoal and dry pastels, as well as liquid colours containing very strong pigments, such as liquid India ink, cannot unfortunately be used at present.
The final Drawing Night of the year, on 9 December, is a Polar Darkness Drawing Night, during which we will draw in keeping with the theme in low light, including near darkness. Bring your own headlamp if you have one!
Last-minute cancellations and available places can be enquired about from the Drawing Master at
Course dates, content and registration:
Registration is binding, and fees are non-refundable. The discounted price applies to students, pensioners and unemployed persons, members of the Helsinki Alumni community, persons performing civilian or military service, and professional artists.
We are testing a new registration system. A place is provisionally reserved as soon as you click the registration link, and you have 20 minutes to complete your registration. The course fee must be paid immediately after registration. Right after registration, a page opens with a link to the University’s online store, where you can pay the fee. Your registration is not valid unless the course has been paid for. You can also find the payment link in the confirmation email. Please make sure that you have entered your email address correctly in the form. If the course fee has not been paid on the day of registration, the registration will be automatically cancelled without separate notice. A payment made after the deadline does not entitle you to participate in the course.
Registration opens on Friday 2 October at 9:00 am.
7 October 2026 — Croquis:
14 October 2026 — Life Drawing:
21 October 2026 — Croquis:
28 October 2026 — Croquis and Movement Croquis:
4 November 2026 — Life Drawing (full-body tattooed model):
11 November 2026 — Croquis:
2 December 2026 — Life Drawing:
9 December 2026 — POLAR DARKNESS DRAWING NIGHT!
Croquis and Movement Croquis. The theme of the Polar Darkness evening is, as the title suggests, low light: we will draw in a variety of interesting lighting conditions, including near darkness. Bring your own headlamp if you have one! The model will be clothed, not a traditional nude model. The model is professional dancer Ingrid André.
Sunday 25 October 2026, 11:00 am–4:00 pm:
Monday 2 November 2026, 2:00–7:00 pm:
Does a Drawing Night always seem to end too soon? Try a five-hour life drawing marathon!
Language: English & Finnish. Open to everyone. Participation fee €38 / €23. Taught by Vappu Rossi, Drawing Master at the University of Helsinki.
Life drawing is a fascinating and suitably challenging way for artists of all levels to develop coordination between the eye and hand! Paper (half a sheet of litoposter paper) and drawing materials can be borrowed from the Art Room, but you are also welcome to bring your own paper and materials. Please note the restrictions in autumn 2026: the Art Room is located in museum premises, so dusty materials such as charcoal and dry pastels, as well as liquid colours containing very strong pigments, such as liquid India ink, cannot unfortunately be used at present.
Please note that during autumn 2026, the Art Room is operating from temporary premises at the University of Helsinki’s Main Building, at the Helsinki University Museum Flame Exhibition Centre.
Monday: Fabianinkatu 33; through the main entrance and turn left.
Sunday: The main entrance is closed; enter via Yliopistonkatu 2, through the archway.
Meal break 3:30–4:00 pm (Monday) and 12:30–1:00 pm (Sunday). You are also welcome to bring your own food to the Art Room. Unfortunately, there is no refrigerator or microwave available in the room.
The Art Room’s open-to-all drawing courses are suitable for both beginners and more experienced drawers. The event has space for 16 participants.
Registration is binding, and fees are non-refundable. The discounted price applies to students, pensioners and unemployed persons, members of the Helsinki Alumni community, persons performing civilian or military service, and professional artists.
We are testing a new registration system. A place is provisionally reserved as soon as you click the registration link, and you have 20 minutes to complete your registration. The course fee must be paid immediately after registration. Right after registration, a page opens with a link to the University’s online store, where you can pay the fee. Your registration is not valid unless the course has been paid for. You can also find the payment link in the confirmation email. Please make sure that you have entered your email address correctly in the form. If the course fee has not been paid on the day of registration, the registration will be automatically cancelled without separate notice. A payment made after the deadline does not entitle you to participate in the course.
Registration opens on Friday 2 October at 9:00 am.
Monday 9 November 2026, 2:00–7:00 pm:
Sunday 22 November 2026, 11:00 am–4:00 pm:
Language: English & Finnish. Open to everyone. Participation fee €38 / €23.
In these much-requested plaster cast drawing marathons, we explore the Art Room’s plaster cast collection and draw one or more plaster sculptures. Taught by visual artist and University of Helsinki Drawing Master Vappu Rossi.
The temporary Art Room premises display more than 30 plaster casts, ranging from sculptures and partial casts of works from antiquity, the Renaissance and the Middle Ages to anatomical models. The plaster casts can be drawn in a traditional or experimental manner, studied at greater length, used for short croquis-style exercises, or even drawn without looking at the drawing. Drawing from plaster casts has been part of academic art education for centuries, and plaster cast drawing remains an excellent way to practise reducing a three-dimensional object to a two-dimensional surface.
The course is suitable for both beginners and more experienced artists. The event has space for 16 participants. Paper (half a sheet of litoposter paper) and drawing materials can be borrowed from the Art Room, but you are also welcome to bring your own paper and materials. Please note the restrictions in autumn 2026: the Art Room is located in museum premises, so dusty materials such as charcoal and dry pastels, as well as liquid colours containing very strong pigments, such as liquid Indian ink, cannot unfortunately be used at present.
Please note that during autumn 2026, the Art Room is operating from temporary premises at the University of Helsinki’s Main Building, at the Helsinki University Museum Flame Exhibition Centre.
Monday: Fabianinkatu 33; enter Flame through the main entrance and turn left.
Sunday: The main entrance is closed; enter via Yliopistonkatu 2, through the archway.
Meal break 3:30–4:00 pm (Monday) and 12:30–1:00 pm (Sunday). You are also welcome to bring your own food to the Art Room. Unfortunately, there is no refrigerator or microwave available in the room.
Registration is binding, and fees are non-refundable. The discounted price applies to students, pensioners and unemployed persons, members of the Helsinki Alumni community, persons performing civilian or military service, and professional artists.
We are testing a new registration system. A place is provisionally reserved as soon as you click the registration link, and you have 20 minutes to complete your registration. The course fee must be paid immediately after registration. Right after registration, a page opens with a link to the University’s online store, where you can pay the fee. Your registration is not valid unless the course has been paid for. You can also find the payment link in the confirmation email. Please make sure that you have entered your email address correctly in the form. If the course fee has not been paid on the day of registration, the registration will be automatically cancelled without separate notice. A payment made after the deadline does not entitle you to participate in the course.
Registration opens on Friday 2 October at 9:00 am.