Advanced Studio Residency: The Burren and the Western Coast of Ireland

FAQs:

 

When is it?

Dates:   June 21st - July 12th. You arrive  on Sat.  morning, June 21st in Shanon.  Class starts on Sunday the 22nd officially.  You leave on  July 12th from Shannon Airport. If you decide to add on your own trip to Dublin following the residency (we encourage you to do this), transportation from Ballyvaughan to Dublin can be arranged. If you arriving from some other destination in Ireland, then you can make your own travel arrangements to Ballyvaughan, arriving on the 21st.

 

Where is it?

We are based out of the Burren College of Art (www.burrencollege.ie) , which is roughly 2 kilometers outside of the small village of Ballyvaughan in County Clare. The Burren College of art is based around the grounds of an old castle, and includes various facilities - an auditorium, priting and computer facilities, classrooms, gallery, cafe, and studios. The College is set in the Irish countryside, with the spectacular landscape of the Burren right outside. The town of Ballyvaughan, were the student housing is, is a small town on the ocean (Galway Bay). The town has a grocery, a gas station, a dozen or so shops, and no fewer than 5 pubs.

 

How do I get there?

Everyone is responsible for their own travel.  For those flying in (most people), we will meet Saturday at the Shannon Airport   (Serves Western Ireland out of Shannon - www.shannonairport.ie) and a Bus will take everyone to Ballyvaughan.  The same going home.  If you want to travel from elsewhere (say, around Ireland or Europe) that's of course ok as well - this is why we leave travel up to you - so that you can string other trips before and after if you like (FYI:  travel to and from Europe is very inexpensive on Ryan Air from Dublin).

 

How much does it cost?

Trip fees are $1850.  This covers lodging and other housing expenses, a group dinner, etc. as well as all local transportation that is part of the class.  Also some supplies (paper, ink, etc.) will be covered.  In addition to the fee, you are responsible for your travel expenses to/from Ireland, food, and the tuition (either 3 or 6 credits, at the standard rate).  As there is extra financial aid allocated for summer trips, over and above what you are normally eligble for, often these trips end up costing about the same as a similar 3 or 6 credit class taken at SAIC (the extra Financial Aid toward tuition ends up making up for the travel and other costs). See below for details on each of these items. The housing we use includes kitechens - so students can cook meals in rather than dining out, saving quite a bit of money if they chose to do this.

 

How do I get cheap flights to/from Ireland?

The best prices are often gotten by flying to Ireland through a major airport (London Heathrow, Manchester, etc.) with aconnection.  For example, prices range from $600-$850 round trip from Chicago. flights may be a bit more this year, given the exchange rate and fuel costs. Aer Lingus is a good bet for flights - with several fare sales during early spring which you should try and catch.

 

Where do we stay?

While everyone will work at the college, you will live in college owned houses right in the village o Ballyvaughan.  These are pretty nice.  There is a bus in/out of the village morning and night.  Its an easy walk, or the school also has bikes you can use.  It stays light quite a long time in the summer (sun is up roughly til 11PM in the evening) so this makes walking/biking  easy.  

 

Where do we eat?

   You can eat in the local pubs and restaurants, or shop and  cook for yourselves.  Each of the houses has a communal kitchen.  Last year those students who wanted to cook (generally a good way to save some $)  grouped up and took turns making dinner for each other in larger groups.

 

What will we do?

This study trip is much more oriented around studio work and art production than many other study trips.  So you are not so much being a tourist as living there for three weeks.  While we will be doing trips around Western Ireland (usually via bus) we will also be spending lots of time exploring the local landscape (The Burren - which is like nothing else... - see the Burren College of Arts WWW site for images and description, or my photo gallery on this site).  The whole point of the trip is to be in this spectacular place, and spend time in the studio reacting to it, and producing work.  Ken Fandell works in photography (and Video), and Shawn Decker works in sound and media/site-specific installation and sculpture.  Students can work in these areas as well as in all the other areas (drawing, painting, performance,  writing, etc.) as well.  Its quite wide open.  We will be taking a certain amount of portable gear along (digital cameras and camcorders, digital audio recorders and microphones, etc.) for use.  Laptops are very useful if you work digitally, and there are internet connections in the studios. There are a also a couple of computer labs and various output devices available.  Also a foundry, shops, darkrooms, etc. are available at the school. The Burren College of Art has fairly new and nice studios.  Generally 2 people will share  a large studio.  The instructors will also be working in the studios as well, so you will be working alongside us (and we alongside you) - so there will be lots of informal opportunities to share with each other.   We will do individual critiques  early on - as well as a few lectures - we will do several trips each week to local spots / cultural events (Irish Dancing, The cliffs of Moher, An overnight on the Arran Islands,  a local Fiord, some of the ancient castles and ruins around the area, and various other spots around the Burren).  We will do one formal critique as a group near the end of the three weeks, individual ctritiques and meetings with instructors during the week, and will do a show (which the village is invited to attend - and generally does) at the end. Otherwise, you are on your own to wander - go into Galway to see the arts festival there - and hang out in the evenings in the local Pubs in the evenings (a pretty popular option). People in town (its a small town of roughly 300 people) are amazingly friendly.  For those who are registering for 6 credit hours, we will also ask you to keep a daily journal, and to do  with a certain amount of continuation creative work which we will follow up with one more critique meeting back in Chicago.

 

How can  I apply for  financial aid?

There are two forms you should get from the financial aid office.  The first allows you to apply for need based aid (you must have filed the FAFSA, etc.)  The second allows you to apply SAIC merit aid and other regular financial aid you have been already awarded to the summer term.  Stop by the financial aid office ASAP to get these forms filed.  As of the time of this writing, the  "preferred deadline" has already passed us by, but you can still apply - just do it ASAP - check with the Fin. Aid office right away.. Once again, there is extra financial aid allocated for study trips - as many students are not covered for summer classes through their regular financial aid. This often means that students can take study classes for about the same financial cost that a 3 or 6 credit class would be during the regular term at SAIC.

 

How do I register?

Registration for summer study trips opens on March 6.  People get there early, and line up.  Courses often completely fill that day, sometimes by noon.  If you are an upperclassman or a graduate student, you can register in the morning.  Otherwise, you have to wait until the afternoon.  (Please check with the Off Campus Studies Office for the precise details on when you can register - it has to do with how many credits you have, etc.) You must have a non-refundable deposit when you register (either cash or credit card - the credit card must be paid on line with a certain short period of time ).  Check the off-campus studies site for deatils on this. This deposit can't come from your financial aid award, and goes toward the $1850. trip  cost. Other than that, you pay for your credits at the normal tuition rate.  You can register for either 3 or 6 credit hours. (see above for the difference) Exactly how Awesome is this really going to be? Extremely Awesome....

 

What if I have more Questions?

Either Ken, or Shawn can take a stab at your questions:  kfandell "at" saic.edu, sdecker "at" saic.edu Also - the off campus studies office is located on the 12th floor of the Sullivan Center (the old Carson-Pirie Scott Bldg), they can answer questions re. registration, costs, etc.  Finally, the financial aid office can help with the financial aid application process.