CELEBRATING OUR 31ST YEAR IN ASSISI
LIVING IN ASSISI:
One of the advantages that Art Workshop International participants experience is the richness of Assisi and its many summer activities, which range from piano and choral concerts to fireworks. In the evening the medieval town has a peaceful atmosphere as people congregate in the main piazza or enjoy a gelato. You may hear a group of young pilgrims sing on their way to church, or you may just soak up the magic with a walk around the town square at night, as you imagine what it was like a thousand years ago.
EVENTS:
Serendipity shapes many Art Workshop International experiences due to the diversity of our creative writing and visual arts faculty and participants. We share informal presentations of art, art history, and literature via our hotel’s DVD and wide-screen TV. Special guests talk with us about Assisi’s history, culture, and the Italian language. The staff compiles a calendar of local happenings. The workshop participants celebrate with a reception on the last full day of each session (August 1 and August 15) and an open studio of all artists’ works and a reading by the writers and instructors. Every year we invite guests – artists and writers who live in Italy and special visitors. Afterwards, the hotel staff serves a farewell dinner. This evening is poignant as each person reflects on how extraordinary the time here has been. Many people already are planning how they can return next year.
SUPPLEMENTAL TRIPS:
There are two days off each session (July 26 - 27 and August 9-10). We encourage participants to explore local sites either on a day or overnight trip. A group can hire our driver for the day, for example, and go on the “trail of Piero della Francesca” to towns where he lived and painted. Other nearby cities rich in art and history include Perugia (the capital of Umbria), Spoleto, Spello, Folignio, and, of course, Florence. All can be reached by local transportation. The hotel staff can help make arrangements in advance.
SPECIAL EVENTS:
The Venice Biennale with Art Workshop International
August 16–21, 2011
Every two years the Venice Biennale, the oldest and one of the most important international visual arts events transforms Venice into the leading showcase for contemporary art. The formal Venice Biennale is based in the Giardini, a park with 30 permanent national pavilions as well as a large exhibition hall that houses a themed exhibition curated by the Biennale’s director. Also throughout the city, in extraordinary buildings, churches, and historic palazzos, there are concurrent exhibitions of new work by established visual, performance, mixed media, video and emerging young artists from all over the world.
Edith Isaac-Rose, director of Art Workshop international and New York based professional artist who has attended many Biennali will accompany you on a tour of the exhibition.
Cost: $2410.Includes transportation from Assisi to Venice by private van, shared double room and bath, breakfast, tax and gratuities at a charming, centrally located, 3 star hotel. For a single room please add $350.
Please note: If you are attending the Art Workshop please add $350 to your workshop deposit. Cancellations for Venice must be made by July 15.