Creative Space:

Studio Art Experience in Florence & Tuscany

Spring 3-week, 2009
Dates:  Approximate: April 20 - May 8, 2009

The Faculty

Professor Christopher Ryan, Art

The Course

Art 248: Creative Space: Studio Art Experience in Florence & Tuscany

This course is an intensive studio art experience that will immerse students in the vibrant city of Florence, Italy.  For centuries, Florence has provided visual and intellectual inspiration for artists.  It is the well-preserved gem of Italian Renaissance art and architecture, but is also a thoroughly contemporary setting teeming with stimulating street life and urban vitality.  One of the features that makes Florence unique is the physical space of the city itself.  Students will encounter a surprisingly diverse array of physical spaces ranging from cramped passageways to wide-open public plazas, from towering heights to subterranean crypts, and from urban complexity to pastoral simplicity.  By exploring the idea of "space" as a theme for the course, we will become acutely aware of our spatial surroundings, how we see and move through them, and how these experiences can impact us intellectually, psychologically, and emotionally.  Through readings, journal writing, discussions, walking tours, individual exploration, and directed art projects, students will explore ways to respond artistically to the uniqueness of their new spatial surroundings.  Students will work in both traditional drawing and water based painting materials, as well as many unconventional materials and approaches.

The Program

Florence will be the primary focus and base of operations, but the group will also travel to many of these exceptional locations:  the hill towns of Fiesole and Cortona, the medieval stone cities of Siena and San Gimignano, and the walled city of Lucca.  In these distinctive locations, students will be encouraged to experience and respond artistically to visits to museums, churches, palaces, cafes, open air markets, intimate gardens, and other spaces, both public and remote.  Students will have some free time to travel, shop, and explore, and will have ample opportunity to enjoy the excellent cuisine and spirited way of life that characterize Tuscany.

Goals

Students will create an artist's journal consisting of both visual artwork and reflective writing through which they will explore their perceptions and ideas about the world around them. In addition to art making, students will be exposed to many of the historic sites and artistic treasures of the past, and will also have the opportunity to visit the studios of contemporary Florentine artists and take in the local art gallery scene.

Estimated Program Costs

$3,500 above tuition and fees

Costs include round trip airfare, housing, a stipend for meals, ground transportation and required excursions.  Personal expenses, passport fees and independent travel are not included.  This figure is a good-faith estimate, students might be required to pay an additional amount at the end of the program to cover unexpected or increased costs.

A $75 non-refundable fee will be charged to a student's Hiram College account upon receipt of the completed application. 

Application Deadline

October 5, 2008

For more information, please contact:

Study Abroad Coordinator
Hiram College
P.O. Box 67
Hiram, OH  44234
Phone: (330)569-5160
Fax:  (330) 569-5381
E-Mail:  mickks@hiram.edu.