ENSBA was the most liberating school Past Review

Academic rigor, intensity, resources, etc.

I have found the most liberating school, and it is ENSBA, if I could turn back time I would enroll there for all four years. First, it's you who controls the classroom, it is your playground and you are free to create whatever you like, unlike SMFA, it has very little structure, but somehow because it operates so simply it runs very fluidly. For instance in all but one of my studio courses I was able to choose the time to work there, if I wanted to come in a 6 and work until 10pm, okay, and the following day come in at noon and work until 1, that's fine. No one keeps track of what your doing, unless you invite them in. Now all this being said the professors do keep track if you never come in, if you have great, time-consuming-art in another studio as an excuse, they may just let you slip by with a low grade, if your work has showed that you needed the extra time to finish it. All of the professors are working artists, and fairly famous ones, I had one professor who had work up in the Maillol Museum. They're all very brilliant, insightful, and most good humored. This being said, let me tell you, you must be able to comprehend french in order to get all there is out of this school, or else you'll miss out on discussions between the students and professors that happen on the fly in class, or the great advise that the professors gave give you. Take my advise, speaking about art in another language is extremely difficult, I know I have trouble even in english talking about my work. I had friends in the program who spoke very little french and missed out on a lot because of it. So heed my words!

How satisfied were you with your living arrangements?

My brother who lives here found me a studio apartment, so I am not going to be much help in this area. Though my advice for finding a place in Paris is to simply contact the head of student exchange at ENSBA and ask her to send out a mass email to the students for an apartment. I recommend living with Parisians obviously, so get in contact with the school, see what they can do for you, be persistent because they can really take their times with things. I live in Bastille, it's really cool, and safe, always stuff happening around here, and it's close to the Seine which is incredibly beautiful, and on my walk/bike ride to school I cruise through the oldest part of the city. I recommend living close to the center and by the Seine because it's so old and beautiful, and Montparnasse or Montmartre because of their significance to artists in the early 20th century like yesterday in the 7th I walked by the church where Henry Miller was ran out of by the priest of that church. So cool. My apartment is 600 euros a month and I live alone in a cool part of town, many of the française I speak to gasp at this because they live down in the ugly 14th or 20th and pay 300 a month in an open shared apartment. Anyways, you've got options, it'll just be an uphill battle to find them. So give yourself time before you go over in order to find something.

Um the food? In Paris? Francetastic, duh. I don't know about the student cafeteria, because bakeries selling three euro ham and cheese where just down the lane.

How integrated did you feel with the local culture?

Truly the best "cultural events" were the simple ones, drinking in the studio with your peers at the end of the school day, everyone lighting up cigarettes and listening to music and socializing. This is really what sets Paris apart from anything thing else, the casualness and nonchalance way of life, in the states I'd be a shaking with nerves drinking in school or on the Charles River as if prohibition was still in effect. At ENSBA there are new student exhibitions up almost every day, every day you have a chance to show your work in School, and for every exhibition drink and snacks are offered and its a lovely way to get a feel for the art that students are making, everyone gets their fifteen minutes of fame. It's magnificent. Every Thursday galleries scattered around the city have opening, where the public indulge in free wine, snacks, and art. Fête De La Musique was the end of June, that was amazing! Every other block there was a band playing out on the street and though it was a weeknight all of Paris overflowed into the streets celebrating music until the early morning, I never felt more like a sausage through a processor than I did that night squeezing through hoards of happy gyrating people. Also Bastille Day, is so fun, A couple of Fire Stations around the city host huge parties. And though I won't be around to go, perhaps anyone coming over for the Fall semester should think about getting tickets to see their favorite band play the huge concert "Rock the Seine". In short though I have only spoken about the nighttime activities there really are things to do day in and out. Lots of open markets at different points in the city every day, and most museums are free with your ENSBA ID Card, also you get a discount at movie theaters. As I've been here for a long time and no longer have any money to spend on anything, one of my favorite places to go is the Library at the Centre Pompidou, they have so much to read and watch and listen to there.

I had no health issues while here therefore I cannot address this topic. Being the city of lights, I'd say Paris is one of the safest cities I've ever been too, much safer than Boston.

(1 = not very easy/$200+ on food & personal expenses/week, 2.5 = $100/week, 5 = very easily/minimal cost)

Paris is the worst place in France to improve upon your french because so many people speak English and they want to practice their English. It is always hard to have to revert back into french when someone has first spoken to you in English. Of course everyone at this school is french so it wasn't hard to start speaking french. I thought that I would be fluent by the end of the semester but I was only at the tip of the Iceberg, being surrounded by it my understand has heightened but not necessarily my speech because it's too easy to get by in broken french when you must spit something out. Luckily though at the end of the day and on weekends there is drinking in the studios and nothing loosens the tongue like alcohol, drinking with students at night is really what has improved my french, much more than any french course could do.

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