CCA News
Summer Abroad in Oaxaca, Mexico
Posted on Monday, February 6, 2012, by Carol Pitts
Interdisciplinary Studio: Oaxaca, Mexico
Instructor: Raul Cabra
June 8–July 1, 2012
Information Sessions on Oaxaca, Mexico, will be held:
Thursday, February 23
SF, West 1, 11:15–11:45 a.m.
Thursday, February 23
OAK, BBLD 1, 3:15–3:45 pm
Description
Surrounded by the sierra of southern Mexico, Oaxaca is a city of rich heritage that combines ancient indigenous cultures and colonial architecture and history with sophisticated modern culture. It is also a city well known for its concentration of the arts; home to the painters Rufino Tamayo and Francisco Toledo, Oaxaca hosts a vibrant and unique contemporary arts scene.
This experimental studio explores the opportunities and implications of collaborative work with local artisans in a cultural context rich in tradition and history. It also provides an opportunity for a carefully crafted cultural immersion. Personal work and formal experimentation are necessarily informed by an interaction with local history, arts, and culture.
This studio consists of three weeks of experimental work, bringing together artists, designers, and artisans in the city of Oaxaca. The goal of the class is to investigate and define new methodologies for the use of design, art, and creativity as tools for social change and cultural engagement. Students work one-on-one with local artisans in a wide range of media (past participants have worked with textiles, ceramic, wood, hammocks, and weaving). Collaboratively, the class explores the materials and open new possibilities for their local use, while at the same time investigating and proposing the creation of new, non-traditional objects.
Fieldwork is complemented by weekly visits to important sites with the guidance of local historians, anthropologists, archeologists, and architects, as well as by explorations of the culinary arts for which Oaxaca is famous. Daily discussions address ethical issues of cultural appropriation and translation, the use of art and design as a "revitalizing" force to promote economic development of dying artistic trades, and the creation of mutually beneficial models for creative collaboration.
Students live together, sharing rooms at the Ex-Hacienda la Guadalupe, in the town of Tlacochahuaya, 20 minutes outside the city of Oaxaca in the central valley.
About the Instructor
Raul Cabra is Senior Adjunct Professor at CCA where he has been teaching on design and social issues at graduate and undergraduate levels for the past ten years. He is also principal of Cabra Diseno, a multi-disciplinary design firm based in San Francisco with an emphasis on community-based and socially engaged work in the fields of health, art, and education.
Cabra lectures frequently on his work for national and international audiences, most recently addressing the IV Congress of AIDS and HIV Prevention in Cuiaba, Brazil, and the University of Nuevo Leon Design Conference in Monterey, Mexico. Mr. Cabra has served as a consultant to the Republic of China on social change through education and sustainability and is presently the director of the sustainable tourism redevelopment project for the Mezcal Route in the Valley of Tlacolula in Oaxaca.
MA in Design, Anthropology and Education, UC Berkeley; BFA in Design, CCA.
Visit: www.Oaxifornia.org
Prerequisites
Undergraduates: completion of sophomore level by summer 2012 and instructor approval.
Graduates: instructor approval
In addition all students must be in good academic, conduct, and financial standing for the 2011–12 academic year.
Course Satisfies
For undergraduates, this course satisfies a Studio Elective, Diversity Studies Studio, or an Upper Division Interdisciplinary Studio.
For graduates, this course satisfies a Grad-wide Elective.
Program Fee
$4,450 + $50 summer registration fee
Program fee includes:
3 units, housing: dorm-style room (shared with 3 to 4 student), breakfast and lunch, museum / field-trip entry fees, and local transportation
Program fee does not include:
Airfare to and from Mexico, dinners, off-hour transportation, travel insurance, medical or personal insurance (students must provide their own insurance)
Meals
Breakfast and lunch are provided at the house. Dinner may be purchased as an optional service (approximately $8–10).
Transportation
Transportation for workshop-related travel is provided free of charge. For a round trip fee of $4 per person, daily transportation to Oaxaca for personal/recreational purposes is available until 11 p.m. Individual cabs also can be hired for a $25 round trip fee. Daily public transportation also is available until 9 p.m. for a $5 round trip fee (but a much longer travel time). Fees quoted above are subject to change.
Please make sure you read the related links in full:
Registration
Financial Aid
Passport, Visa, and Insurance
Code of Conduct
In-person registration begins on Thursday, March 1, for all summer study abroad courses. Students should register no later than Friday, March 30. If spots are available in the course after this date, students may still register as long as accommodations have not been finalized.
Enrollment is limited. Interested students should contact Raul Cabra right away to start the approval process for registration.
All CCA Summer Study Abroad courses (including the New Mexico and New York Studios) are coordinated by the Office of Special Programs.
Questions
Office of Special Programs
Oakland campus, Ralls 201
Nina Sadek
Dean of Special Programs
510.594.3773
nsadek@cca.edu
Carol Pitts
Assistant to the Dean of Special Programs
510.594.3732
cpitts@cca.edu