Art & Museums in Russia is a venue-based program for students, educators, curators, museum professionals, and anyone interested in art. By exploring the collections of and facilities at The Hermitage, The Russian Museum, and other famous museums of St. Petersburg's, you will learn about art in a way not possible in a traditional classroom.
This intensive program includes a series of fascinating seminars hosted in St. Petersburg, Russia's cultural capital and one of Europe's most vibrant artistic centers. In addition to a comprehensive study of art history from the perspective of Russia, you will choose between two tracks: studio art or museum studies and art preservation. Individually tailored programs, research guidance, post-study travel or language study are also available. Inquire for more information.
By discussing these topics with Russian professionals, you'll gain unique perspectives from a culture whose art has survived war, censorship, revolutions, and several economic crises. This has lead to creativity and ingenuity in Russia not only in how to create art, but also in how to display and preserve it. Art & Museums in Russia seeks to help transmit this knowledge to the West, while opening international dialogues between artists and professionals.
Summer, 2014 Cost: $3,795* June 13 - July 13, 2014 Apply by April 15, 2014
Frequently asked questions about our programs
Missed the deadline? Have a question? Contact Us.
SRAS is celebrating art in Russia by offering a $500 ART GRANT for the Arts and Museums in Russia Program. Grant participants will be expected to contribute weekly (a total of 4) write-ups of St. Petersburg museums, artists, and/or exhibitions for our ArtInRussia.org project and a 2-3 page end-of-program summation essay describing what the scholarship participant learned on this program and how they plan to use this knowledge and experience in the future. The grant is awarded after all conditions are met.
To apply, just write one paragraph about why you want to study art and museums in Russia. Submit this paragraph plus two writing samples (e.g. papers written for college-level classes, preferably on Russia- or art-related subjects) and email these to Josh Wilson, SRAS Assistant Director, when applying for this program!
- Curriculum -
All courses are taught in the context of social history with a special class on censorship and coercion in Russia that until very recent times had a strong influence on the development of the arts in the country.
Art History
Through carefully designed venue-based tutorials led by specialists, students are introduced to various facets of Russian art through history. Our range of material will include: Russian folk art; Orthodox icons; the state-endorsed works of Classicism associated with the State Academy of Arts; and the plethora of the avant-garde movements in the first third of the 20th century to the contemporary artistic trends in the early 21st century. The course covers all forms of art including: architecture and city planning, painting and graphic art, sculpture and decorative arts such as furniture, textiles, fashion, and jewelry.
This course will include SRAS's famous walking tour of St. Petersburg, introducing you to the city, its layout and landmarks, as well as Russia's myths, history, and daily life. Additionally, students will tour the imperial splendor of the fountains of Peterhof and the Pavlovsk Imperial Palace outside of St. Petersburg. Weather permitting, Pushkin with its elegant parks will also be included.
- Choose One -
Studio Art Daily studio classes in situ or in the studio space of the Hermitage Youth Center will focus on developing sketchbooks based on the superb artistic and architectural artifacts abounding in St. Petersburg. These unique visual experiences will allow students to develop personal iconographies forming an inexhaustible and exceptional resource for future work in any area of the visual arts. Students will also try their hand (with students from other tracks and SRAS programs) in a variety of traditional print techniques such as monotype, lithography and drypoint and will practice traditional folk wood-painting, creating a souvenir to take home. The studio course culminates with a final showing of the works created at the Hermitage Youth Center.
Museum Studies The Hermitage provides an excellent base for museum studies due to the museum's vastness, superbly high quality and universality of its art collections, its up-to-date storage facilities, its highly advanced and versatile preservation and restoration practices, and extensive educational activities. All these aspects of museum work are explored through a series of targeted workshops with emphasis on the restoration of icons, paintings and sculpture, often including on hands-on demonstrations. Students will also explore St. Petersburg's extraordinary multiplicity of museum types such as a museum of private collections, a memorial apartment, a country estate museum, a literary museum, and a newly formed museum of Russian avant-garde art, an educational college art museum, a museum of religions, and a museum of political history. At each of these places particular issues associated with the ongoing formation of the collections as well as with the evolution of display concepts are discussed. Special attention is given to matters of restitution that are important for many museums in Russia.
- Options -
Moscow Estimated Cost: $475 This four-day tour of the Russian capital includes walking tours of the city, admission to several museums, and other culture-oriented events. Roundtrip rail tickets and hostel stay are included (ask about upgrading to single/double rooms). The trip usually take place after the main program for Art & Museums in Russia has ended, meaning that you will have additional time in Russia.
Post-Program Travel or Study Estimated Cost: varies Interested in studying Russian, researching a specific topic, or just traveling Russia after your program? Let us know!
*Housing: SRAS can, upon request, arrange housing for program participants. This can range from hostel stays to shared or private apartments or home stays. Dormitory stay unavailable for this program.
*Prerequisites: Participants 18 years of age and above and at all levels are encouraged to apply. No prior knowledge of Russian required.
*Language: All sessions are in English; some discussions may be facilitated by an interpreter.
*Program Hosting: This program is overseen by SRAS Partner Elena Varshavskaya, Ph.D, who has over two decades of research and teaching experience in the fields of Russian, Central Asian, and Far Eastern Art. All art classes (studio and history) are taught or overseen by Elena Varshavskaya and/or instructors from the Hermitage Education Center, which is part of the Hermitage Museum.
**Credit Transfer and Transcripts: Students requiring documentation of their program participation will be supplied transcripts from SRAS, the Hermitage Educational Center, and/or St. Petersburg State University (at additional cost). Students who will need documentation or a transcript must read our FAQ page for more information before applying for the program.
*Family Members: Participants wishing to bring family members or others on this program are welcome to do so. For those family members not participating in the program, SRAS can help arrange tourist visas, shared housing, and participation in certain excursions including "The Art of Moscow." For those family members wishing to participate, SRAS offers discounts for multiple participants signing up together. Contact us for details.
Pictures from SRAS St. Petersburg Art Programs
Pictures from the city of St. Petersburg
I wish you could see the notebooks that I filled on this trip, not only with facts and notes from tours and class, but with sketches and observations and lists of differences and similarities that I noticed...We absolutely packed our time with seeing everything that we could and while I know there is so much more, I also know that we could not have better spent our time.
*Housing: SRAS can, upon request, arrange housing for program participants. This can range from hostel stays to shared or private apartments. Dormitory stay unavailable for this program.
*Prerequisites: Participants of all ages and levels are encouraged to apply. No former knowledge of Russian required.
*Language: All sessions are in English; some discussions maybe facilitated by an interpreter.
*Program Hosting: This program is overseen by SRAS Partner Elena Varshavskaya, Ph.D, who has over two decades of research and teaching experience in the fields of Russian, Central Asian, and Far Eastern Art. All art classes (studio and history) are taught or overseen by Elena Varshavskaya and/or instructors from the Hermitage Education Center, which is part of the Hermitage Museum.
**Credit Transfer and Transcripts: Students requiring documentation of their program participation will be supplied transcripts from SRAS, the Hermitage Educational Center, and/or St. Petersburg State University (at additional cost). Students who will need documentation or a transcript must read our FAQ page for more information before applying for the program.
*Family Members: Participants wishing to bring family members or others on this program are welcome to do so. For those family members not participating in the program, SRAS can help arrange tourist visas, shared housing, and participation in certain excursions including "The Art of Moscow." For those family members wishing to participate, SRAS offers discounts for multiple participants signing up together. Contact us for details.
![Art-and-Museums-[e]-1](/img/1bea8f6dceccf0ea7547a03b5a346c7e.jpg)
