Each summer, the art department leads a study abroad or study away program. This summer, Linda FitzSimons and James Boyles will be taking 13 students to Ireland and Northern Ireland. Although this program will be focused on art, it is not intended to be exclusively for art majors. The group has already been meeting as a class for three hours once a week since March 13. These pre-trip classes were part of a 1 hour credit course entitled ART 941 Ireland: Its Arts and Histories. The students are headed to Ireland and Northern Ireland with some background on the rich and complex history, religion, culture, and politics of these two nations. Students will depart June 9 and return June 29.

This program covers a great deal of ground in three weeks. They will be starting off in Dublin where students will have the chance to view many of the wonderful sites of the capital city including Trinity College, Abbey Theatre, the Irish Museum of Modern Art, and Dublin Castle. From there they head to Waterford, Limerick, Galway and then to the lovely and remote Aran Islands. The group will head north to Sligo and then on to Northern Ireland to see Derry and Belfast before finally returning to Dublin to fly back to North Carolina.

Students will be looking at the art, architecture, and landscape of these two counties and will be inspired to produce their own works of art in the form of drawings and photographs. Additionally, each student has become an expert on a topic relating to Ireland and will help enrich the rest of the group’s understanding by sharing their knowledge at relevant sites or within class discussions. Students who successfully complete this 3 week program will receive credit for ART 323 Summer in Ireland: Its Arts and Histories. If the past is prelude to the future, it is reasonable to believe that there will be a wonderful and creative collection of art from this program for the Meredith community to enjoy next fall.

Margaret Lally has been maintaining a blog of the group's activities in Ireland, please click on her name at the left to read more about the day-to-day happenings.