Athens & Paros, Greece: Artmaking, Community, and Environment

Summary

NOTE: The location for the first part of this program has changed to Athens (from Eleusis). (Updated 1/24/24.)

This course takes place in two different locations in Greece: the capital city of Athens, full of history and intrigue, and the Cycladic island of Paros, where students will have an extraordinary opportunity to exhibit their artwork in an international setting.

With a long history of over 3400 years, Athens is the capital of Greece, and often referred to as the cradle of Western civilization. In antiquity Athens was a significant center of learning, philosophy, and the arts - a birthplace of democracy and home to renowned philosophers such as Socrates, Plato, and Aristotle. Today, Athens is a bustling metropolis and the economic, financial, industrial, political, and cultural heart of Greece, with a vibrant artistic scene, iconic festivals, independent art spaces, cultural hubs and lots of street art!

Paros, in contrast to Athens, is one of the top summer destinations in Greece, and characterized as the most beautiful and most distinctive islands of the Cyclades. Embellished with whitewashed houses, narrow cobblestone alleys, turquoise beaches, mountainous villages and exquisite cultural monuments, Paros has developed a unique artistic scene which explores local materials and sustainable art practices. In Paros, students will explore weaving and assembling found objects with natural materials to create art installations. The course will culminate in a student exhibition at the Cycladic Arts Gallery in the seaside village of Alyki.

Scholarships available! 10 Art Practice Majors who apply to this program will automatically be awarded a $500 scholarship for the program. To qualify, you must be declared as an Art Practice major, and be one of the first 10 Art Practice majors to apply!

Highlights include:

• Learning about ecological art, including found materials and upcycling
• Field trips to explore the burgeoning local arts scenes in Athens, meeting with local artists, attending pop-up shows and galleries, and more
• Hands-on workshops on weaving with a local expert in Paros
• Installation art in the beautiful island of Paros sourcing and using local, natural materials
• Exhibiting at a local, established gallery

Dates:

• Online/Virtual: June 3 - June 14, 2024
• In Greece: June 18 - July 15, 2024

All dates are subject to change.

Courses:

On this program you will take two classes for a total of 6 units:

Courses:

• Art 160: Special Topics in Visual Studies (4 units, graded)
• Art 198: Directed Group Study (2 units, pass/no pass)

Units: 6 units

Language of Instruction: English

Requirements satisfied through full participation:

Requirements satisfied through full participation (all courses must be completed with C-/P or better):

• L&S International Studies Breadth
• Additional Breadths TBA
• Upper division Art Practice major requirements
• Consult with your college/major advisor to see which degree requirements this course may fulfill.

Note: Requirements above must be satisfied through full participation (all courses must be completed with C-/P or better)

Eligibility:

• At least one year of college coursework completed by the start of the program
• 2.0 GPA or higher
• May not be on academic probation or under censure for student misconduct at any point from application review to the end of your program.
• Must be 18+ years old at the time of application

Housing:

• In both locations students will stay in a 3-4 star hotel. Students will have single beds in rooms of 2-4 total program participants. The rooms have individual bathrooms, air conditioning, internet, a flat screen TV and desks. Bedding and towels are cleaned daily. Both hotels are within walking distance from class activities. Please note that students will be paired with roommates based on the gender listed on their passports. However, gender inclusive options are available. If you have clarifying questions, please feel free to reach out to the program staff.

Food:

• Daily breakfast provided at the hotel.
• Group lunches are provided Mon-Thursday by the program and are covered in the cost of the program fee. Meals will be provided at local restaurants and will include a variety of Mediterranean products and local cuisine. Vegetarian options are available but vegan options are very limited. Please note that the program may not be able to accommodate all dietary restrictions. If you have questions, please contact the Faculty Director.

Application:

Application opens February 1, 2024

Space is limited and applications are accepted on a first-come, first-served basis

Deadline to apply is March 13, 2024

Courses

During the program, you will be automatically enrolled to take two courses for a total of six UC Berkeley units.

• Art 160: Special Topics in Visual Studies (4 units, graded) +
• Art 198: Directed Group Study (2 units, pass/no pass) = Total 6 Units

Course: Art 160: Special Topics in Visual Studies (Artmaking, Community and Social impact)

Instructors: Jill Miller

Units: 4 units, graded

Description: Set in the city of Athens, full of history and intrigue, and the Cycladic island of Paros, Greece, students will have an extraordinary opportunity to experiment with multiple art strategies, forms, and materials in an international setting. Working with our partner, Study Abroad in Greece (SAiG), our class will leverage SAiG’s deep knowledge of the region and connections with local art networks to engage the community.

With a long history of over 3400 years, Athens is the capital of Greece, and often referred to as the cradle of Western civilization. In antiquity Athens was a significant center of learning, philosophy, and the arts - a birthplace of democracy and home to renowned philosophers such as Socrates, Plato, and Aristotle. Today, Athens is a bustling metropolis and the economic, financial, industrial, political, and cultural heart of Greece, with a vibrant artistic scene, iconic festivals, independent art spaces, cultural hubs and lots of street art!

Paros, in contrast to the capital, is one of the top summer destinations in Greece, and characterized as the most beautiful and most distinctive islands of the Cyclades. Embellished with whitewashed houses, narrow cobblestone alleys, turquoise beaches, mountainous villages and exquisite cultural monuments, Paros has developed a unique artistic scene which explores local materials and sustainable art practices. In Paros, students will focus on artistic installations which will be exhibited at the Cycladic Arts Gallery.

Course: Art 198: Directed Group Study

Instructor: Jill Miller

Units: 2 units (pass/no pass)

Description: Directed group study that must be taken in conjunction with Art 160.

Requirements Satisfied by this Program:

• L&S International Studies Breadth
• Additional Breadths TBA
• Upper division Art Practice major 
• Consult with your college/major advisor to see which degree requirements this course may fulfill.
• All of the required courses must be completed with a C-/P or better.

Note: Requirements above must be satisfied through full participation (all courses must be completed with C-/P or better)

Course Enrollment

Note: Summer Abroad staff will enroll you in courses after your acceptance to the program. Please make sure there are no active blocks on your student account that may impact your course enrollment.

Costs

The fees to participate in this program are broken down into 1) tuition and 2) program fees, which are applied to your student billing account as follows:

Fees are subject to change. All non-Berkeley students must pay an additional Document Management Fee of $68.

Estimated Out-Of-Pocket Expenses

In addition to the fees outlined above, Berkeley Study Abroad has estimated amounts for out-of-pocket expenses. These amounts are used to calculate financial aid packages for eligible students. Actual expenses will vary depending on your lifestyle and spending habits.

It is your responsibility to obtain any necessary travel documentation for your program destination (i.e. passport, visa, etc). This may require you to pay fees of up to a few hundred dollars depending on the type of paperwork required.

Financial Aid

Scholarships available! 10 Art Practice Majors who apply to this program will automatically be awarded a $500 scholarship for the program. To qualify, you must be declared as an Art Practice major, and be one of the first 10 Art Practice majors to apply! Email summerabroad@berkeley.edu with any questions!

Financial aid is available for Berkeley students who are enrolled in at least 6 units during the summer.  Students can request a financial aid package estimate to understand what their individual financial aid package will look like. We recommend all financial aid eligible students request a financial aid estimate.

​​Requesting a financial aid package estimate: If you wish to receive a financial aid package estimate, please fill out this form (CalNet Authentication required). You will receive an email with your financial aid estimate (please allow a minimum of one week for response).

If you have a specific question about a study abroad financial aid issue you are encountering, please email TravelAid@berkeley.edu. Please do not email to request a financial aid estimate, these requests should be made using the form above. 

All other students should contact the financial aid office at their home institution for more information.

Explanation of Fees

Tuition is based on a per unit cost:

• The UC undergraduate student rate is $419 per unit
• The visiting student rate for all non-UC participants is $595 per unit

The program fee includes the following items:

• Student housing & some meals (see summary tab for more details on the housing and which meals are provided)
• On-site orientation activities, excursions, etc.
• Materials and space reservations for community based art-installation
• Travel insurance, including accident/sickness medical coverage, emergency medical evacuation, security extraction, and other travel assistance services
• Other program-related costs including fees for group transportation, guest speakers, etc.
• The $300 deposit. If accepted to the program, the $300 deposit will be applied towards your program fee. If you are waitlisted or denied admission to the program, your deposit will be refunded. If you request to withdraw your application prior to an admission decision being issued, or cancel your participation after being accepted to the program, the deposit remains charged to your account. 

*Please note that the list of items included in the program fee is not all-inclusive and is subject to change.

The following items are excluded from the program fee and included in the Out of Pocket expenses estimate:

• International airfare
• Personal expenses (souvenirs, routine medical expenses, toiletries, etc.)
• Course materials (textbooks and readers) if applicable. You can contact the instructor of the course to clarify.
• Other travel expenses (passport, visa, etc.)
• Additional meals

Timeline

* The pre-departure orientation is mandatory and takes place on the UC Berkeley campus. If you are not on campus during this time, we will schedule a meeting via phone or Zoom.

† The last day of online instruction is June 14, 2024. Students should plan to fly to Athens, Greece and check into program housing in Athens on June 18, 2023. Mid program students will board a pre-arranged ferry to Paros Island. Students are expected to check out of program housing in Paros on July 15, 2024. There is a small airport in Paros, and students can purchase cheap direct flights from Paros to Athens if your roundtrip flight to Greece is to and from Athens. Note: Students who depart Greece after the last day may do so, but they are responsible for arranging their accommodations outside of the program check in and check out dates. 

All dates are subject to change.

Instructors

Program Director: Jill Miller

Email: jillmiller@berkeley.edu

Jill Miller is an Assistant Professor in Art Practice and a visual artist who works across a wide range of media, from augmented reality to public art, and many hybrids in between. She often collaborates with individuals and local communities in the form of public interventions, workshops, and participatory community projects. Her work is playful, and she uses humor as a strategy for opening up meaningful conversations about difficult subjects. In past work, she: lived in the remote wilderness in search of the mythical creature Bigfoot, assisted mothers who were harassed for breastfeeding in public, and organized teenage girls who were closing the gender gap by learning to edit Wikipedia. Her recent work, My Mother’s Titanium Hip, is a digital collage that blends video conference footage with text messages and 3D models.

Born in Illinois, Miller received her MFA in from University of California, Los Angeles and her BA from University of California, Berkeley, in English. Her work has been shown nationally and internationally, and collected in public institutions worldwide including CA2M Centro de Arte Dos de Mayo in Madrid and the Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden. In 2019, she received an Artists in Communities Grant from the California Arts Council to create the first commissioned socially engaged artwork at the Palo Alto Art Center and the Mitchell Park Library.

Miller is the founding director of Art Practice’s public practices venue, Platform Artspace, and she oversees the Worth Ryder Art Gallery and Undergraduate Honors Studios in Art Practice. She is on the executive committee of the Berkeley Center for New Media (BCNM), and she is affiliated faculty at the Berkeley Food Institute and Global Urban Humanities.