Upcoming Life Model Nights
11/07/2025
Toulouse
France
Toulouse is also hosting its
"Life Model Nocturnal", a unique artistic event organized at the Toulouse
Natural History Museum.
It makes the practice of life drawing accessible to all, without age limit, for all levels (beginners, amateurs, professionals).
This year, we will welcome 600 artists over two consecutive evenings on
November 7th and 8th, 2025, from 7 pm to midnight. Nine models each evening, including dancers, actors, and circus performers, will move around the space and pose for 30 seconds to 25 minutes.
Artists will be able to express their artistic sensibility through this giant-scale workshop, during which we will encourage the sharing of knowledge between amateur, experienced, and professional artists.
Artists may leave or be absent at any time. Each participant must bring their own equipment, dry techniques only, and must bring a small folding stool or cushion if desired, as there are a limited number of chairs available for the event.
Tickets are sold exclusively online at a nominal price of €10, to allow everyone to participate in this event. You must book online, don’t wait as places are limited.
A refreshment service will be available at the building entrance.
Saturday, November 8th will feature workshops for children, teens, and families, as well as a lecture on the profession of nature artist.
Photography is strictly prohibited during drawing sessions. A professional photographer will be on hand to cover the event.
Other surprises await you!
11/08/2025
Roanne
France
Roanne is organizing its
1st Life Model Drawing Night at
the Labo Creative Arts Center. Whether you are a curious beginner, a passionate artist, or simply an art lover who appreciates a creative atmosphere, this event is for you! In a friendly and inspiring environment, you can draw, listen to readings specially created for this event, enjoy live music, and discover the richness of contemporary art. Organized by: Mité et Miguel Alcalá Association. In collaboration with: Le Labo, Plume Writing Collective, and the Roannais Agglomeration Conservatory of Music and Arts.
12/03/2025
Lille
France
Compagnie Insolit’a Danse is organizing its
7th Life Drawing Night at
La Canopy. We invite you to this second evening of life drawing in the magnificent setting of La Canopy, featuring four professional models. A beverage vendor will be selling drinks on site (please note there will be no food service), and there will be an artistic performance. We remind you of the proper etiquette for life drawing: Bring your own drawing materials and something to sit on. Photography and filming are prohibited (except with the models’ permission). Please respect the life models. Regular price: €18, Student price: €12.
01/23/2026
Gap
France
The Tempo Municipal School of Visual Arts and the Gap Departmental Museum invite you to the 2nd annual Life Drawing Night at the museum from 7:00 pm to 10:30 pm. Open to all, beginners and experienced artists alike, this artistic event offers a unique opportunity to practice life drawing in the museum’s intimate atmosphere. Come and practice sketching from live models using your preferred dry technique. Several models will be waiting for you in the museum’s exhibition rooms, some draped, some nude, some in chiaroscuro. Posing times will vary from 3 to 30 minutes, divided into three sessions of approximately 45 minutes each. The session is unsupervised.
It is free and open to everyone. You can arrive or leave as you please, as long as you do not disturb an ongoing session. Seating is provided. Registration is mandatory online (except for TEMPO students) via
the museum’s website or by calling 04 86 15 30 70
02/03/2026
04/28/2026
Caen
France
Caen will host its Life Drawing Nights on February 3rd and April 28th, 2026 at the
Museum of Fine Arts from 6:30 pm to 9:30 pm. Come and practice sketching from live models using your preferred dry drawing technique. The suggested pose times will gradually increase (from 5 to 30 minutes) and then decrease, with three sessions of approximately 45 minutes each. The session is unsupervised.
It is free and open to everyone. Tables and chairs are available on site. Reservations are required.
03/18/2026
Roubaix
France
Academy Night 2026 will take place at
La Piscine in Roubaix on March 18th, at 7:30 pm. Drawing enthusiasts, art students, and those with an amateur or professional artistic practice, this evening is for you. Four professional life models will pose in the magnificent setting of the pool. Bring a small art supply and a suitable surface for sketching (dry media and watercolor). You may also bring a small folding stool. Cameras and video cameras will not be permitted. Full price: €10, under 26: €6. A light snack will be provided.
Life Drawing Night is a giant life drawing workshop, an unmissable cultural event for artists and art lovers, generally organized in museums in collaboration with cities involved in art and culture in France, and which typically welcomes hundreds of artists.
Life Model Night in Roubaix
Over the years, it has become a major event in French local cultural life. Each year, new cities organize their own Life Drawing Night, and the more established ones have to organize several sessions to allow everyone to participate.
Life Drawing Night makes the practice of life drawing accessible to everyone, beginners, experienced artists, and professionals, without age restrictions (some cities require minors to be accompanied by an adult), in a friendly and artistic atmosphere.
It most often takes place in the magical setting of museums, from 7 pm to midnight (times may vary), and is open to everyone. Admission may be free, but generally does not exceed €10 to remain accessible to young people and students.
This event is organized by art schools, associations or youth and cultural centers in partnership with municipalities, which usually provide a museum capable of accommodating hundreds of participants. Sometimes, this event takes place in unusual locations, such as in Boulogne-sur-Mer, where it was held at the municipal swimming pool with models who were exceptionally allowed to pose without swimsuits!
Night of the Life Model in Orsay
Each drawer can arrive and leave at any time, must bring their own materials (dry techniques only, no water), and also bring a folding chair or cushion, as seating is limited.
A catering service is generally provided on site. Photography and video are prohibited; only an official photographer is present to cover the event.
Entry is by online reservation only; the first to register will be guaranteed a place as these are limited and quickly reserved, too bad for the latecomers.
Many cities in France are organizing it in collaboration with art schools: Toulouse at the Natural History Museum with 600 artists, Angers at the Museum of Fine Arts, Lille at the Palais des Beaux-Arts, Roubaix at La Piscine with 570 participants, Caen at the Museum of Fine Arts, Douai at La Chartreuse museum, Hazebrouck at the Musée des Augustins, Gap at the museum, Cambrai at the Museum of Fine Arts, Boulogne-sur-Mer at the swimming pool (first night in 2024), Paris with the All-Nighter of the Life Model at the Académie de la Grande Chaumière, and at the Musée d’Orsay with painters...
The event spanned an entire weekend, featuring workshops, a conference, and life drawing sessions. It was a resounding success, with tickets selling out in just three days. Affordable prices made the workshops easily accessible.
Since its inception, the event has grown significantly. The Evening Life Drawing Session is no longer a single event, but a whole weekend for artists and families. It’s no longer just one session, but a comprehensive program with multiple workshops and a conference.
And for this occasion, the public responded enthusiastically: "The 600 tickets for the Evening Sessions sold out in three days, and all the workshops are fully booked," says a delighted Audrey Bourdin, one of the organizers. What’s appealing is first and foremost the rarity of this type of event, but also its low prices: "Today, fewer and fewer people can afford to take life drawing classes because it’s very expensive," explains the organizer. "You have to pay the teacher, the model, and it’s still a considerable expense." That’s why the Nocturnes aim to remain accessible to both art students and professional artists. Facing the artists, nine nude life models posed for periods ranging from 30 seconds to 25 minutes. Each model brought their own style and approach, but all were artists: dancers, actors, or circus performers. "The models are very diverse; there are all body types. It was important to us that they be representative of our society," explains Audrey Bourdin. On Saturday during the day, children and families, who already had their tickets, were introduced to drawing through two workshops. Finally, a meeting with Charlène Letenneur, naturalist and scientific illustrator, took place with free and open entry.
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France TV report - Night of the Life Model in Lille, France
