For undergraduate and graduate art students, artists wishing to work independently as residents in a stimulating school environment, and adults who aspire to reach a deeper level in their art.
The School is one of a very few of its kind: a school of modern art with in-depth training in drawing, painting, and sculpture. Enrollment is limited to about twenty-five students per session, with a 5:1 student/teacher ratio. This positive and intimate environment offers students substantial contact, both formal and informal, with their faculty mentors.
Thanks to our dynamic faculty, students come from all over the world. International School artists are of diverse ages and backgrounds. They include undergraduate and graduate art students from top-ranking art schools, artists considering graduate programs, postgraduates, art professors, working artists, and professionals. The International School is an ideal environment in which developing artists can completely devote themselves to working and learning. The time spent working at the school has always been extremely productive and conducive for breakthroughs, for students and faculty alike.
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For artists who wish to work independently in a community of artists.
The Residency program provides the ideal combination of seclusion and community in a setting of breathtaking beauty in Italy, in which artists can work intensively and independently for two, three, or more weeks in a supportive, inspiring environment. A distinguished visiting artist or member of the School faculty joins us as Senior Artist in Residence and studio critic, and a model poses for open drawing sessions. Visiting artists critique and lecturers provide preparatory talks for the weekly trips to Italy’s cities of art, which inspire and inform the work in the studio. While there are no classes, the Residency program also enables students to continue to work and progress independently.
During non-working hours, residents have access to the school’s art library, telephone, Wi-Fi, computers with Internet, and video collection. Residents enjoy wonderful meals together in the dining room, and develop a close sense of community. Residents’ rooms are single-occupancy and their studios are open seven days a week, 24 hours a day. Independent Residencies may also be taken during the School sessions.
This program is also perfect for faculty on sabbatical, and for students looking to develop a body of work. The final resident’s exhibition, a festive event, is held in the school’s gallery, and is attended by local artists and people from Montecastello and the surrounding area.
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CE (Continuing Education) is designed for adults with some background in art who want to create more time in their lives to paint and draw, or to deepen their engagement. This program offers shorter term instructional sessions, and is appropriate for people whose involvement with art was interrupted or limited by career or family demands, but who are eager to begin to study and practice again with our outstanding faculty. Advanced students and professional artists are also welcome in the CE Program.
CE students explore and enrich their interest in art, working and living in the heart of Italy, surrounded by a landscape of unparalleled beauty, close to great masterpieces of art and architecture. The emphasis is on work in the landscape and the studio, with classes in painting, open drawing sessions with a model, and weekly trips to Italy’s cities of art. After-dinner lectures and visiting artists enhance the program. The CE fee includes a single room, studio space, tuition, group trips, and three delicious Umbrian meals a day.
While we have tried to clarify the intentions of the different programs, in practice we see that people move freely between them. If you are willing to work and are open to experiences you will find any and all of our programs worthwhile. We try to make everyone's experience as rich and productive as possible.
