Drawing on Site and in the Museum: A Global Studio and Field Experience

Location: Museu Nacional de Arqueologia; Excavation site of Torre de Palma; Castelo de Vide, Portugal; Museo Nacional de Arte Romano, Mérida, Spain.

Date: June 15th - July 5th

Scientific Direction: Maia M. Langley, PortAnta and Cindy Ludlam, 

Art, Art History and Yoga;  Cindy Ludlam, Art Director, Visualization of Torre de Palma Project & Kundalini Yoga Instructor

Archaeology, Art History; Maia Langley, Project Director & Archaeologist

This course was designed by an artist and an archaeologist after a successful season of collaborative work at the Roman excavation of Matança in the summer of 2006.  Cindy Ludlam and Maia Langley, artist and archaeologist, have developed a program that will allow artists a new experience in drawing and drafting as well as giving students of archaeology an experience in the technical rules of archaeological drawing as well as an introduction to the tools necessary to work in reconstructive archaeological drawings.  As well, this course is designed to give participants a wide variety of exposure to the art, art history, archaeology and museum culture in Portugal and Spain. 

 Many students of archaeology have never been given the opportunities or the avenues to render accurate archaeological drawings and historic landscape reconstructions.   Many artists have never had the opportunity execute their work in such  stimulating environments that will add a new perspective and composition to their artistic influences.  This program is also tailored to be an experience in visualizing history and in visualizing new cultures throughout time.  This is a unique program that is being offered to students of all ages and hopes to be a stimulating and hands on experience in learning.

We have created a course that many of our colleagues have described as "innovative, inspired and conscientious."   Our hopes are to engage each student, in a real and meaningful way, and submerge them in the culture and history of a a place where the history is visually identifiable through archaeology and teach them the skills to retain these new experiences and history permanently.  By allowing participants to visually and artistically identify with the material culture of the past, our hopes are to open new paths of thinking and to pave the way for new ideas and new associations to be made.

 Our journey will consist of a hands on introduction to archaeological materials and the intellectual tools to identify, describe and draw them technically.  This will be conducted at the Museu Nacional de Arqueologia.  After this, we will spend time in the permanent collection working on the artistic execution of elements in the collection and will then move our program to the archaeological site of Torre de Palma, a magnificent Roman villa in the Alto Alentejo area of Portugal.  After spending time with the architecture and landscape of this site, and discussing methods of artistically reconstructing architecture and landscape, we will move to the frontier area of Spain and Portugal and concentrate our work on the change and progression of historical phases by visiting and drawing at the sites of Marvão, Castelo de Vide and the Roman city of Ammaia.

We will then move to the former Roman Lusitanian provincial capital of Augusta Emerita (Mérida, Spain) and visit the amazing archaeological sites and national museum here - taking in the history, the elements, the feel and texture of history and reinforcing the very layered history in the part of the world.  This site, which endured Roman, Late Antiquity, Visigothic and Islamic  presences and exists as a thriving city today - allows the viewer to perceive the chronological movements of the past and how the present community here identifies and lives in the past.  A trip to a Roman bath will be made  and participants will be allowed to bath and swim in this still functional facility.  Relaxation and memory reinforcing techniques will be taught to participants as well and yoga will be offered to those who are wanting to participate.

All participants will be taught, through hands on exploration, the skills to understand chronological changes as well as given the time to reflect and store their experiences using yoga and meditation. Students will benefit from the organization, daily regimen and nightly yoga and meditation practices that will give them an experience which will positively and permanently create an indelible mark on their lives and deepen their comprehension of the material discovered each day.  

The fee is €3,000 for this program includes accommodations and transportation within Portugal and Spain as well as instruction tuition.

Please email This email address is being protected from spam bots, you need Javascript enabled to view it or This email address is being protected from spam bots, you need Javascript enabled to view it for addition information.  You can fill out the application form for this program by going to the HOME page, under APPLICATION FORMS, and selecting the DRAWING Program from the choice of projects.

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Program Ideology