Gap Year Art Programs

Everywhere in the world can be a destination for artistic inspiration… but where should you go if you want to learn from the best and develop your skills as an artist?

Spain. Really? Here? YES! Spain was once a muse to both Salvador Dali AND Pablo Picasso. No wonder, Spain is as colorful and flavorful as a kaleidoscope feast. Enroll in a gap year art course program in Spain to live amongst a culture who values pleasure as a daily necessity. You can find gap year art programs along the coast and paint your picturesque cliffside sunset or find a program inland that calls to you to sculpt the Pyrenees profile. 

Italy. Work at next year’s fashion week in the cultural congestion or take a bus ride out to the sunflower-laden hills and live in a place where the distant birds, whispering wind, and your very breath are the loudest things. Either way, taking a gap year art course program in the remnants of the Italian Renaissance won’t hurt your art career. Take a gap year in Rome or Florence and work with museums to develop their outreach programs or even lead museum tours in one of the 44 UNESCO World Heritage sites. Magnifico!

Brazil. South America isn’t usually initially thought of when people think of “art,” but that needs to change ASAP. Why? Brazil, in particular, is weaved with all styles of artistic expression. Dancing is embraced at all hours of the day and night. Musical performances extend from the private comforts of a home to group masterpieces along the streets in neighborhoods. Theatre masterpieces ripple out of production studios into the rest of the town. And lastly, photography captures the best of landscapes ranging from the Amazon rainforest to island-studded coastlines. Wow, right? What a perfect place for an art gap year program!

Costs. All the countries listed above generally have costs of living comparably to living the U.S. (I know, I know. Even living the U.S. varies extensively). Want to make money fast for your gap year? Share your dreams and plans for taking a gap year on FundMyTravel to crowdsource some extra dough before you head out on your journey. Save up as much as you can before you leave to study art abroad so that when you need to purchase a new memory card, a new brush, or a box to ship back all your creations you can do so without worrying. 

Accommodations. Most art gap year programs with set you up to live in dorms or a nearby apartment building, depending on what environment you stay. Drawn to the center of the city? Expect an apartment. Planning your destination in a more remote area? You might end up staying with a host family, with other gappers in a shared living situation, or in a dorm with one other aspiring artist like you! 

Visas. Ahhh, sweet visas. Nearly everyone needs this special document to be able to stay in a country for a gap year. Don’t be frazzled, the GoAbroad embassy directory is here to help to get what you need way ahead of time before you embark to study art abroad.

Safety. Cultural norms vary all across the world. If safety is a huge concern for you, speak with your program provider in the beginning to see what measures are already in place for them to help you if something goes wrong. Most of the time, travelers are overly cautious in a foreign land and have a more impervious experience abroad than at home!

Surrender to the experience abroad. This means that you trust that you made the best decision for you at this time and you’ll let yourself be taken away by new situations (within reason, let’s not be careless) and learn things you didn’t know were possible.

How can you make the most out of your art course gap year experience? Pack lightly and start your trip with a blank canvas. Let your art consume you and paint your reality when you are living abroad. Leave yourself enough space to bring home your masterpieces, invest in another suitcase, or find places to donate your work. They would make great Thank You gifts to those that helped you along your way or meaningful souvenirs to your friends waiting for you back at home.

So, what’s your muse? Maybe you need to do a gap year art course program abroad to find out. ;-)

Keep reading, ambitious teens!