Study Abroad in Florence, Italy at SACI!

COLLEGE OF ART & DESIGN - Florence, Italy Programs: Undergraduate Study Abroad and Summer Terms in Florence & Venice

www.saci-florence.edu

SACI's Palazzo dei Cartelloni

SACI‘s Palazzo dei Cartelloni is a Renaissance building in the historic center of Florence. This palazzo—said to be the home of Mona Lisa—provides highly dynamic and exciting surroundings for study. Rebuilt in the 17th century, its facade commemorates Galileo. It is a landmark building, with light-filled interiors, which includes, in addition to classrooms and studios, an art gallery that leads to a large and lovely garden.

More classrooms—and graduate studios—are in SACI’s Jules Maidoff Palazzo for the Visual Arts, a spacious Renaissance palazzo, just two blocks from Florence’s majestic Duomo. This palazzo is around the corner from Italy’s first opera house, the Teatro Pergola, and across the street from the newly refurbished Library of the Oblate, which was specially designed for use by university students and features a top-floor cafè and open-air study area with lovely views of Florence’s historic center.

ACADEMICS

SACI offers a wide array of both traditional and cutting-edge studio art and design courses as well as classes in art history covering medieval to contemporary art. For conservation students, there is the unique opportunity to participate hands-on in the restoration of historic works. In SACI’s Italian Language courses, students are introduced to selected Italian students and young professionals who accompany their SACI partners to interesting local events and activities. SACI students have the opportunity to enroll in courses in performance studies, creative writing, and literature—and to undertake internships in Florence museums and design firms.

Studio classes normally meet with instructors for 90 hours per term (including field trips); one semester hour of credit is awarded for two hours of work in class and at least two hours of work outside class per week. Academic classes normally meet with instructors for 45 hours per term (including field trips); one semester hour of credit is awarded for one hour of work in class and at least two hours of work outside class per week. Classes are taught in English, with the exception of Italian language courses.

CONNECTING WITH THE COMMUNITY

SACI encourages students to work with the Florentine community on a range of volunteer projects. SACI students teach English at elementary schools, serve as English-language museum guides, and assist at international aid agencies.

As part of their classes, SACI students create artworks for local hospitals, design posters for human rights and slow food organizations, and restore art treasures.

FIELD TRIPS

Over the course of the year, students in SACI classes have opportunities to visit Rome, Milan, Bologna, Pisa, Lucca, Siena, San Gimignano, Arezzo, Assisi, Ravenna, Mantua, Carrara, Pietrasanta, Vinci, and the Medici villas—as well as the major museums, churches, and monuments of Florence. Students visit artists’ studios, private collections, galleries, art fairs, professional designers’ studios, theaters, and manufacturers of Italian design products. SACI students have access to modern art collections, research libraries, and contemporary art museums. Optional trips are offered to Rome, Naples, Pompeii, Herculaneum, and Venice. Multi-day trips have been offered to London, Vienna, Berlin, Paris, Amsterdam, Malta, and, as graduate workshops, to Belgrade, Geneva, Havana, and London.

Each year, SACI features in its galleries a number of major exhibitions. SACI also hosts many lectures. Speakers include artists, art historians, conservators, museum directors, curators, critics, and scholars specializing in art and the humanities. Additional activities include life drawing sessions, film screenings, and courses on Italian culture and cuisine. SACI symposia have included a conference on the restoration by SACI conservation students of Florence’s Santa Maria degli Angeli chapel, a forum, featuring David Hockney, on artists’ use of optical devices, and an international symposium, From Galileo to Mars, exploring the interconnected spheres of contemporary art and science.

ACADEMIC YEAR ABROAD / ACADEMIC SEMESTER ABROAD

Since 1975 thousands of students have benefited from a life-changing educational experience offered at SACI. The extensive range of studio arts, design, conservation, art history, and Italian culture and language courses provides our students with the means to meet their individual educational needs while connecting with the rich cultural heritage of Italy.

The student body is largely comprised of students enrolled at US universities and institutions in other countries. In both Fall and Spring, a student can enroll in five classes for a total of 15 credits. Advanced students may be eligible to pursue directed independent study or undertake an internship in a design firm, museum, or gallery. As part of their classes, SACI students often work with local organizations.

Students visit renowned museums in many famous Italian cities over the course of the year. They also visit artists’ and designers’ studios, private collections, galleries, art fairs, and theaters, modern and historic public art collections, research libraries, and contemporary art museums.

Academic Year and Semester Abroad students enjoy many opportunities to exhibit their artwork at SACI. The Academic Year Abroad culminates in a major end-of-year student exhibition which serves as an opportunity for students to display their work also to the Florentine public.

Students may use their financial aid to study at SACI and numerous scholarships are awarded each term.

Students select from SACI’s wide range of courses to bolster their knowledge of art history and build portfolios that will make them more competitive when applying for admission to art schools, colleges, and universities.

Florence, Italy

Studio Arts College International - FLORENCE

Palazzo dei Cartelloni - Via Sant’Antonino 11, 50123 Florence, Italy Tel: (39) 055-289948 Fax: (39) 055-2776408 E-mail: info@saci-florence.edu

ADMISSIONS OFFICE - NEW YORK

454 W. 19th St. New York, NY 10011, USA Tel: (212) 248-7225 Fax: (212) 248-7222 E-mail: admissions@saci-florence.edu

www.saci-florence.edu