BY BRENDEN ZERIHUN
Travelling overseas does not always have to be for a vacation.
Sometimes international travel can also provide a great study opportunity.
Sheridan students will be travelling abroad on a faculty-led study trip to Italy starting early May. Directed by Illustration professor Clemente Botelho and Animation professor Tony Tarantini, the 35-day course will allow students to observe how art and ideas of the past have influenced and shaped Italian culture.
“Students will achieve an understanding of various movements in Italian art – the origins of these movements and the groundbreaking ideas that changed the trajectory of Western art,” explained Botelho.
“The course is designed for visual thinkers and artists. Ultimately we challenge the students to analyze the qualities of the art we are immersed in, and create the visual experience that record, celebrate and challenge these ideas and influences.”
Students will stay in private, furnished apartments during the duration of the trip to help encourage immersion into the community. The 35-day trip allows students to live “like a local”. During visits to Rome and Venice students will stay in hotels. The group will also visit Bologna and Siena by train.
Botelho, who has been directing Sheridan Arts students in Italian study trips since 2004, actually lived in Florence as a student for a year during his undergraduate education.
“Ultimately we challenge the students to analyze the qualities of the art we are immersed in, and create the visual experience that record, celebrate and challenge these ideas and influences. – Clemente Botelho”
As a young artist, Botelho says the trip was an inspiring experience that helped spark many of his interests and passions.
Since introducing credit courses in 2007, more than 275 students have achieved an elective credit toward their Bachelors degree from the course.
“Our students – their behaviour and presence – and the amazing work produced has made a mark within the study abroad community in Florence,” said Botelho.
“Sheridan arts students have created a wonderful legacy, and it’s a privilege to experience and to extend this tradition with new individuals each spring.”
An informal meeting for the 2017 course will be held Wednesday, Oct. 19 at 7 p.m. in B124 at Trafalgar Campus.
You can follow the program and learn more about the course here.
Contact Clemente Botelho clemente.botelho@sheridancollege.ca for any additional inquires.