Art, in all of its Forms

The second week of our program is all about art and creativity- and in Rennes, we focus on all of its forms.

We are proud to teach our students about art in museums, but we don't want to contain it to just that plane of existence. Art is dynamic, and interpretive, and our students deserve to discover all of its facets. In class students have been learning to communicate about classical art, yes, but also dance, cinema, music, and street art- the last one being the focus of the day’s activity.

Meeting our guides for a walking tour of Rennes, students discovered some of the street art hidden in plain sight in this beautiful city and learned about the artists behind the pieces. Students discussed the different styles and tags of each of the street artists with their guides and program leaders, and dissected their own reactions to the frescos and the feelings and sentiments the art invoked. 

After the walking tour of the city, the students became the artists, and tried their hand at their own street art (some discovering that it is much harder than it seems!). Our guides helped to trace out the letters of our own tag (#GlobalNavigators so the world can know we’re here!) and the students worked in pairs to each complete a letter. The cooperation between students to make their vision come to life was a treat to watch- some students went in with a game plan, some picked their favorite colors and decided organically where to go from there, and some of the teams did a little bit of both. Students also experimented with different techniques, from holding the spray can close to the wall to get a drip effect on their dots of color, to flicking the paint at the wall and letting it fall where it may. At the end, our guides helped us to define our tag by adding a bold black border and some highlights- it really looks professionally done! 

Our students had a blast and watching them cooperate and communicate was (so far!) the highlight of the week. Students walked away understanding the fundamental principle of the day: art can always be found in a museum. But it is never contained to just that space.