07 Feb 2010

Cyprus Summer Studio 2010

The Cyprus Summer Studio (also known as the Cyprus Summer School) was first held in 1969. Over the past 40 years it has welcomed many artists and art students from Britain, Ireland and many other countries to Cyprus, who come to spend up to a month making art, enjoying each other's company and lapping up the sunshine of the Cypriot summer. It is not a painting holiday, but it is also not an art course. It is simply an opportunity for artists and art students from other countries to come to the Cyprus College of Art and use our studios and accommodation during the summer vacation when our own students are on holiday.


The Cyprus College of Art

The Cyprus College of Art is a great place to study art and design, whether at foundation, undergraduate or postgraduate level. It was founded in 1969 by the Cypriot artist Stass Paraskos, who is also the College's Principal, and attracts students from all over the world.

Stass is probably one of the most interesting and successful artists to come from our island. For many years he was Senior Lecturer in Fine Art and Head of Painting at the University for Creative Arts in Canterbury (England), and he is the only artist from Cyprus to have work in London's prestigious Tate Gallery. As a source of advice and inspiration for students wanting to become artists his presence at the College is invaluable.

The ethos that Stass instils at the College is that to be a great artist or designer students need to learn skills to make their work, a sense of discipline to do their work and a sense of self-criticism to evaluate their work. These qualities have to exist in an environment that values freedom and spontaneity. That is why you will find the Cyprus College of Art is probably unlike almost any university or college you will have seen before.

Over the years many well-known artists have taken part in the Summer Studio, including Terry Frost, Norbert Lynton, Rachel Whiteread, Euan Uglow, Peter de Francia and others, but the Summer Studio welcomes artists well-known and unknown, as well as art students seeking to broaden their aesthetic experience in a new culture.


The Summer Studio for Artists and Art Students 2010

For 2010 we are offering five groups on the Cyprus Summer Studio - three in Lempa (Paphos) and two in Larnaca.

Lempa is a small village near the sea, and is a very unusual place. It is an artists' village, also home to students and tutors from the University of Edinburgh's Archaeology Department, and the College itself is a VERY, VERY simple place. Low-tech is one of our watchwords. The living accommodation is also very primitive and resembles camping, with shared cooking and washing facilities.

Larnaca is a modern city, also by the sea. The College is still an unusual and simple place, but the probably resembles a more typical college or art school. The accommodation in Larnaca is also of a higher standard, although bear in mind it is still student accommodation and not like a hotel.

For both locations be prepared for the basic and primitive and you'll enjoy what we offer. All accommodation is self catering and cleaned by everyone using it on a rota system. Pictures of the Colleges and accommodation can be found on the Cyprus College of Art Facebook page.

The studios in Lempa are open 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, with tutors on hand most weekday mornings to offer any help and advice. In Larnaca the studios are open Monday to Friday 9am to 6pm, with tutors again on hand most weekday mornings. A group crit is held one morning a week at which people are asked to talk about the work they have been making. In the afternoons the heat tends to be too hot for work so people go off for a swim or sleep. Although the atmosphere of the Summer Studio is causal, informal and relaxed, bear in mind we do expect people to want to use the morning time in the studios, so if we don't see you working in the mornings we will ask you to leave.


Cyprus Summer Studio Groups:

• Group A LEMPA: 20 June to 11 July 2010
• Group B LEMPA: 14 July to 4 August 2010
• Group C LEMPA: 8 August to 29 August 2010
• Group D LARNACA: 20 June to 11 July 2010*
• Group E LARNACA: 14 July to 4 August 2010

* Please note that Group D Larnaca is reserved for people aged 30 and over only. All other groups are open to people aged 17 and over, but all groups attract people of all ages, backgrounds and artistic abilities.

Single room: GB£330 (approx 370 euro) per room
Twin room: GB£398 (approx. 460 euro) per room
(i.e. twin room=£199 (approx. 230 euro) per person)

All shared rooms have two single beds in them.


To Apply and Other Things

To apply please complete our online application form. You will need to pay a deposit of £100 by debit or credit card (via Paypal) with your initial application. After that the remaining fee will be due by 31 May 2010.

Places are allocated at our discretion on a first-come-first-served basis with no other selection procedure. If your application is unsuccessful we will return your deposit in full.

Travel costs to Cyprus, food and art materials are not included in the fee.