CAPA WORLD

Video by Natasha Wright, a BFA Acting major from University of Minnesota-Twin Cities and CAPA London alum.

Natasha talks about her research project focusing on Synergy Theatre Project and their work with prisoners and former prisoners in the theater and arts space.

---

Thanks, Natasha!

Allyson Barnes is an official CAPA blogger for summer 2018, sharing her story in weekly posts on CAPA World. An Anthropology, Evolutionary Biology and Ecology, and Studio Arts major at University of Colorado - Boulder, she is studying abroad in Florence this semester.

In this week's post, Allyson writes about fulfilling her passion and practice of art in a prominent and historic art city like Florence.

---

My favorite class here in Florence this summer by far has been my drawing class. I love art, which is why I picked it up as another major. I am so passionate about my art and so getting to practice my art in the art capital of the world was just a dream come true.

Trying pen and ink drawings of the Ponte Vecchio.

In the class we got to not only explore art practices in the classroom and studio, but we also took outings all around the city to explore and find sculptures to base our drawing on. It was a great way to practice our techniques and also a way for us explore the wonderful city that we are in. Jaime was our professor and she did a wonderful job. She was so passionate about everything, including whatever she taught us, that it always made us more interested in the topics. She was always someone I enjoyed listening to.

Kelly is an official CAPA blogger for spring 2018, sharing her story in weekly posts on CAPA World. A Journalism major at University of Minnesota-Twin Cities, she is studying abroad in London this semester.

In this week's post, Kelly discovers God's Own Junkyard and takes a look inside this neon sign heaven.

---

About a 15-minute walk off of the Victoria line’s Walthamstow Central Tube Station, a wonderland filled with neon sign exists. Unless you're looking for it, you won’t find it. A sign leading to it fittingly reads: “Heavenly junk in a hell of a location.” And it’s true. It’s an incredible treasure of a spot in a completely random location.

God’s Own Junkyard is like a gallery. It’s where old neon signs are given new life. The man behind the magic is Chris Bracey, the “Neon Man.” For 37 years, he’s been creating neon art pieces for photographers and artists including David LaChappelle and Martin Creed. He has made, installed and collected signs that have appeared behind the likes of Tom Cruise in “Eyes Wide Shut” and Johnny Depp in “Charlie and the Chocolate Factory.” When a film is finished and neon signs are discarded like yesterday’s leftovers, the Neon Man collects them and never lets them die.

Kelly is an official CAPA blogger for spring 2018, sharing her story in weekly posts on CAPA World. A Journalism major at University of Minnesota-Twin Cities, she is studying abroad in London this semester.

In this week's post, Kelly ventures out to Shoreditch to see how art plays a big part in the area's appeal and vibrant culture.

---

All throughout London, art graces the walls of buildings, fences, and even exists beneath people’s feet as they make their way through the city each day. In East London’s trendsetting Shoreditch neighborhood, there’s no shortage of it. From Banksy’s work to the work of a man who creates tiny masterpieces on people’s hardened gum, art truly remains all over.

Street art in Shoreditch.

For my Post War British Pop Culture class, we ventured out to Shoreditch to take in all of the art it has to offer. In class, we learned about the area’s street art. We also learned about how the area is transforming with gentrification. As more hipsters move into the area and bring instagrammable coffee shops with them, the area has become more desirable. Rent hikes have forced immigrants who have lived there for years to leave.

Michaella Estevez is an official CAPA vlogger for spring 2018, sharing her story in weekly posts on CAPA World. A Marketing major at University of Massachusetts Amherst, she is studying abroad in Florence this semester.

In this week's post, Michaella spends a weekend in Rome and gets to know another Italian city better through its art, history, and architecture.

---

Thanks Michaella!

Michaella's journey continues every Tuesday so stay tuned.

Michaella Estevez is an official CAPA vlogger for spring 2018, sharing her story in weekly posts on CAPA World. A Marketing major at University of Massachusetts Amherst, she is studying abroad in Florence this semester.

In this week's post, Michaella visits the Uffizi Gallery with her friends for free and views several stunning art pieces.

---

Thanks Michaella!

Michaella's journey continues every Tuesday so stay tuned.

Madeline Messina is an official CAPA blogger for summer 2017, sharing her story in weekly posts on CAPA World. An Advertising major and a French and Francophone Studies minor at the University of Florida, she is studying abroad in Dublin this semester.

In this week's post, Madeline discusses the deep-rooted history of music in Irish culture, and how it has changed throughout the years.

---

Music has a close relationship with Dublin. It’s difficult to walk down a busy street in the city without hearing music. Whether it’s the buskers on Mary or Grafton street during the day or Irish trad pouring out of the pubs at night, the pulse of the music mirrors Dublin’s heartbeat.  It’s easy to see that Dubliners are very passionate about music. Plenty of the troubadours sat in the streets don’t have cups out to accept money, they do it for the love of it. Traditional musicians in pubs sit in booths playing their instruments over the tables while the sound reverberates through the crowd; they are on the same level as everyone else. It is very symbolic, in a way, because musicians aren’t idolized here, music is free to be enjoyed by the every-man.

Jiwon Choi is an official CAPA blogger for summer 2017, sharing her story in weekly posts on CAPA World. An Art History major at the University of Massachusetts Amherst, she is studying abroad in Florence this semester.

In this week's post, Jiwon takes us on a tour of the Uffizi Gallery to show and tell us about her favorite pieces.

---

Because I'm in the place where the Renaissance started, I chose to take a renaissance art history class. There's nothing like being surrounded by the historic art and architecture I'm learning about. We spend half the class learning the history of what we're going to see and spend the other half exploring and seeing the actual art and architecture. I have seen beautiful work by the famous renaissance masters Michelangelo, Leonardo Da Vinci, Raphael, Donatello, and Brunelleschi. Seeing these pieces of art that are legends to art history students like me made my legs go weak and brought me to tears. My favorite trip to see works like these was to the Uffizi Gallery. 

Danielle Thai is an official CAPA blogger for spring 2017, sharing her story in weekly posts on CAPA World. A resource economics major at the University of Massachusetts Amherst, she is studying abroad in Shanghai this semester.

In this week's post, Danielle visits the Yaz Museum to see an exhibit by Brooklyn artist Brian Donnelly aka KAWS.

---

Where the end starts. You might be wondering where exactly that is, and as it turns out, the end starts at the KAWS exhibition at the Yuz Museum in the West Bund of Shanghai. The artist Brian Donnelly, also known as KAWS, is a Brooklyn based artist who has made a name for himself through his creations of larger than life sculptures of human cartoon characters and hard edge paintings that emphasize line and color.

Elizabeth Withers is an official CAPA blogger for spring 2017, sharing her story in weekly posts on CAPA World. A double major in English literature and history & philosophy of science at the University of Pittsburgh, she is studying abroad in Buenos Aires this semester.

In this week's post, Elizabeth brings us to the Museo Nacional de Bellas Artes to see an exibit on Argentine artist Xul Solar.

---

It’s hard to believe it’s been six weeks already! Time seems to be flying by, and everything still feels new, and unfamiliar, and exciting. And I can’t stop finding new things to explore. My classes are partly to thank for that-- a few of my professors regularly post news about events going on in the city, and my classwork and homework sometimes involve excursions of some kind. This week I visited the Museo Nacional de Bellas Artes for an assignment in my Art and Politics in Latin America class. I came to see the museum’s new temporary exhibit on the fascinating Argentine artist, Xul Solar, but the permanent exhibits were definitely worth a visit as well.

Photo: Museo Nacional de Bellas Artes