The Florence and Italy ARTIS Program

Benvenuti in Italia! - Welcome to Italy!

You are about to partake in one of life's greatest adventures! Experience the Italians, who are as warm as their country is sunny. Be embraced by the culture that nourishes the art lover in you! From Florence, the spiritual home of artists the world over, to the canals of Venice or the breathtaking Tuscan countryside, Italy awaits you with open arms.

Your "home away from home" will be in the historic center of Florence! Your furnished apartment will be located where the birth of the Renaissance took place. Stroll down the same streets as Michelangelo and Raphael on your way to shop at the central market or while catching an evening choir performance in a nearby church. Relax and make friends while sipping cappuccinos at your neighborhood cafe. You are in the center of it all!

MAKE ART ! STUDY ART !

Free daily art history slide lectures on The Art of Florence are available for all participants during the study abroad program these last for one hour and are followed by the art history tours. Generally the morning field trips last 2-3 hours. (During the month you will be visiting over 30 famous churches and museums!) After the morning field trip we'll break for lunch. You are then free for the day or you can take advantage of your morning's inspirations by signing up for non-credit courses in Jewelry making, Batik, Textile Design and Photo-silkscreen Printmaking offered at our art school. Cost for these optional classes run around $450 for a 3 week class.

Another option is to sign up for a college art course being offered for credit through one of our participating colleges. Optional college credit is available for the cost of the college's tuition. Call for tuition prices. Classes in photo, drawing, history and painting are generally offered. These college credits are transferable and an additional tuition fee is required from the issuing colleges. If you don't need college credit, you may be able to audit the class for free. Generally a drawing class is available where you can render your own impressions in the drawing media of your choice. We will conduct these on-location art lessons in the museums (sit at the feet of Michelangelo's David and sketch his masterpiece) in the piazzas, Roman ruins and in the countryside where you will see vistas of the Tuscan hills for landscape sketching. Afternoon art classes generally last 2-3 hours and can be attended on a come-as-you-like basis when you audit them. There will be a group critique once a week to view what we have created. Call for details of available classes to audit.

The evenings and weekends are scheduled as free time to enjoy shopping and other interests.

ART & TOUR PROGRAM

The program will have a flexible schedule to offer optional instruction in art classes. Participation in the workshops is scheduled for the afternoons.

• Studio space will be provided for five days per week, three hours each day. However, most of the work will be generated outside of the studio. Art historic tours will be held each morning for approximately three hours. The art instruction will be held for three hours in the afternoons.
• On-site art instruction and art history lectures will be held at the studio, or at various historic locations in Florence, in museums and churches and at sites in the Tuscan hills that surround Florence.
• Daily field trips, and Art Historic lectures, will be to all major museums and churches in Florence.
• Excursions included will be to Rome, Venice, Pisa, Siena and San Gimignano.