The Visual Arts program operates an optional 12 week summer immersion program
at our full-time dedicated campus in Old Harlow, England (40 minutes outside of
London in a quiet country town, with a direct train line to Liverpool Street
Station in the heart of London). The Harlow Program (which has been running for
20 years) is offered every second year, and involves three full credit courses
in Visual Culture and Art History, and is open to any student in the VA Program
and to students from other degree streams. There is also a graduate level course
(offered with instructor permission) that can be applied for.
From Memorial University's campus in Old Harlow, England, Dr. Gerard Curtis
leads daily field trips to important cultural and architectural sites in the UK.
The program lasts approximately 11 to 12 weeks, and begins in late April or
early May. The majority of the course work occurs directly in London, with trips
into the city three to four times a week. The three art history courses
completed during the trip are immersive and experiential, offering a hybrid of
art history, visual and material culture, and studio-based work (though one does
not have to be an artist to participate in the trip). The program also includes
a 10-day field trip to Bath, Salisbury, Stonehenge, St. Ives and Bristol as well
as day trips to Cambridge, Saffron Walden and Brighton. In addition, there is a
7-9 day break during which students can arrange their own travel plans; on past
trips, students have traveled to Ireland, Paris, Amsterdam, Greece, and Berlin.
Students have also stay on after the courses were completed and toured
Europe.
During the most recent trip to Harlow, twenty-four students spent twelve
weeks immersed in the visual and architectural culture of England. The students
went on day trips to Oxford, Salisbury, Stonehenge and Brighton, as well as
multi-day stays in Bath, St. Ives (including an optional surfing session) and
Bristol. Some highlights of the trip include walking tours of London, a Norman
Foster architectural walk, St. Paul's Cathedral, the Tate Britain, the Tate
Modern, productions at the Globe Theatre, Henry Moore's estate at Perry Green,
the Roman Baths, Salisbury Cathedral, Stonehenge, Avebury, Cambridge, Bodiam
Castle, and the Brighton Pavilion. Students also saw artwork by Hirst, Emin,
Lucas, Mueck, Kusama, Picasso, Munch, Hepworth, the Pre-Raphaelites, the
Vorticists as well as the Royal Academy Summer Exhibition and graduating student
shows at Central St. Martin's and the Chelsea College of Art & Design.
Traveling overseas can be expensive, especially on a student budget. To
alleviate some financial strain there are a limited number of travel
scholarships offered by Memorial, and students participate in fundraising
throughout the one or two years leading up to the departure date. This
fundraising helps to cover group costs such as vehicle rentals and admission
fees to museums and galleries. Students are responsible for the cost of airfare,
accommodation, tuition, books, most meals (though either a dinner or a packed
lunch is provided on weekdays by the campus as part of the accommodation costs)
and all other personal expenses. Total costs for the 2011 and 2012 trip, for
twelve weeks, were estimated at between $6000 - $7000 (Canadian dollars) by
those students who had carefully planned their expenses. This included airfare,
tuition, accommodation, meals, field trips, and most foreseeable expenses.
Please note, however, that expenses will vary according to exchange rates,
individual budgets -- and spending habits.
For more information about the Harlow trip, see the Harlow Campus website or
contact gcurtis@grenfell.mun.ca.