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!