Hey there!
I am currently studying abroad in London under LC’s England: Fine Arts program, and I’m so excited to be able to share with all of you the wonderful adventures that I get up to while abroad. Check out some of my other blogs to learn more about the program, the logistics of going abroad, and life as a study abroad student!
This weekend was pretty busy for me! On Friday, one of my professors invited our class to visit his art gallery in northeast London. The amazing thing about this program is that our classes are taught by people who are experts in their field. My Fine Arts professor is an incredible gallerist who has worked at so many institutions across London and truly understands the Fine Art scene here in London, which is arguably of the most important cities in the art market.
We traveled all the way across the city (a 45 minute tube ride) and all squeezed into his gallery in Hackney. It was amazing to be able to see the results of his professional work, and to get an inside look on how a gallery operates, puts on a show, and interacts with the public. The exhibit featured amazing artists, such as Ahaad Alamoudi, Lulus Alyaha, and Tom Hardwick-Allan.
On Saturday, I traversed a little west of London to the amazing city of Oxford! Home to the University of Oxford and almost a thousand years of educational history, the town really felt like stepping back in time. The University is made up of 39 semi-automic colleges and halls, spread all over the city. The most famous of these, and also some of the oldest, are the Christ Church College, Trinity College, and Balliol College. It’s amazing walking through some of these courtyards, and it feels almost as though you’re on set for the new Harry Potter movie or something, with how ancient and fantastic the architecture is.
Oxford University is home to one of the oldest academic libraries in the world, the Bodleian Library. Made up of several libraries across the colleges, the Bodleian is the second largest library in Britain and houses 13 million printed materials. Nearby is also the Radcliffe Camera, housing the Radcliffe Science Library, which in addition to being an incredible academic space full of history, is also a truly spectacular building.
During my day trip to Oxford I also visited the Oxford Covered Market, which was founded in 1774, the Pitt River’s Museum which houses most of the archeological and anthropological collection of the University, and Blackwell’s bookshop, a bookstore first founded in 1879. Everything in the town is steeped in history and academia, and it is a wonderful place to spend an afternoon, wandering around and enjoying the atmosphere.
