Sense of Self: Live Project Brief

Live Project Brief for state school students aged 14-18 | Selected artworks will be displayed in The Courtauld Gallery and online between Oct 2025 - Feb 2026.

‘To me, a Van Gogh painting is the epitome of how to use colour, texture and a sense of self to create an image.’ Rachel Jones. For acclaimed contemporary artist Rachel Jones, looking at artwork by Vincent Van Gogh was her ‘first example of feeling inspired to be an artist’.

We invite young people from across the UK to explore Van Gogh’s famous Self Portrait with Bandaged Ear and artwork by contemporary Rachel Jones to find their own moment of artistic inspiration.

Using art historical approaches, we will look closely at Van Gogh’s self-portrait and Jones’ artwork, thinking about the use of colour, mark-making, taking inspiration from Art History, and sensory exploration to understand how we might create our own ‘sense of self’ through artwork.

Whether you are an artist, writer, performer, designer, musician or historian we are keen for educational groups and your students to engage and respond to Van Gogh’s Self Portrait with Bandaged Ear. Selected artwork will be displayed in the Project Space at The Courtauld Gallery and online between Oct 2025 – Feb 2026.

painting of a man with a bandage covering his ear i Self-Portrait with Bandaged Ear, 1889, Vincent van Gogh (1853-1890). © The Courtauld

Creating a response

A response is not a copy of the original artwork but a completely new interpretation. We are looking for a personal response that interrogates any aspect of Van Gogh’s famous Self Portrait with Bandaged Ear and comments on contemporary issues you are passionate about.

You might choose to focus on:

Self Portraits: How do people present themselves? How might self-portraits differ from reality?

Mark Making:
What is Van Gogh’s mark-making technique? How is it similar or different to Rachel Jones? Can you devise an artwork using similar techniques?

Colour and Emotion
: What emotion do you feel towards different colours? Do different colours make you feel different ways?

Multiple, colourful pastel strokes which form an eye and nose i Sense of Self, Van Gogh, Artwork Example. (c) Learning Team.

Teachers and education leads

Would you like to launch Sense of Self: Live Project Brief in your classroom?

We have a fantastic team of artists and art historians who are able to launch the live brief to your students. Sessions can be delivered online, at the gallery, or in-school/college.

We have a number of opportunities for schools/colleges to work with us on the live brief for a series of sessions. To book a session please e-mail: education@courtauld.ac.uk

Want to learn more? Attend our online Sense of Self: Live Project teachers event.

Teachers Session – Introducing Sense of Self: Live Project Brief (Online). Wed 21 May, 4pm – 5:15pm, online. BOOK NOW

Multiple, colourful pastel strokes which form an eye and nose i Sense of Self, Van Gogh, Artwork Example, two. (c) Learning Team

Student workshops

Aged 16-18? Join one of our online or in-person workshops and discover more about our live brief and ‘Self Portrait with Bandaged Ear’. Our workshops are open to UK state schools and college students:

Introducing Sense of Self: Live Project Brief (in-person at The Courtauld Gallery)
Tue 27 May. 10am – 3pm.

Introducing Sense of Self: Live Project Brief (Online)
Wed 28 May. 10am – 11:15am.

Introducing Sense of Self: Live Project Brief (Online)
Thurs 29 May. 5pm – 6:15pm

Aged 16-18? Book onto a Sense of Self workshop now
i Van Gogh workshop attendees. Insights into Art History 2025. (c) Learning Centre.

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Multiple, colourful pastel strokes which form an eye and nose

Sense of Self: Live Project Brief

Sense of Self: Live Project Brief is a live brief for educational groups inviting them to explore Van Gogh’s famous Self Portrait with Bandaged Ear and artwork by contemporary Rachel Jones to find their own moment of artistic inspiration....

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