Study Abroad in Spain

Photo of a photography exhibit in a plaza in Bilbao

Study Abroad in Spain with Professor Amy Friend
Spring Course, Full Credit – Open to all Brock Students

Interested? Join the information session Monday, November 24, 2025 at 5:30 pm by using the button below. Please contact Professor Amy Friend at [email protected] for more information.

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VISA 3M05 – Art Studies Abroad in Spain

Course Description

Exploration of unique cultural events and regional settings in Bilbao, Spain, and surrounding areas. Artist exhibitions, talks, participatory workshops/seminars, and activities with various institutions. Immersive experience develops knowledge of arts, cultural programming, tourism, media, and communications, with a focus on community interaction for social and economic benefit.

Restriction: student must have a minimum of 5.0 overall credits and a minimum 60 percent overall average or permission of the instructor.

Note: approximately 10 days of intensive study abroad with online pre-travel component. Students are expected to pay their own expenses. Students may need additional materials, which they must supply.

Photo of Basque coast

What to Expect

This spring, embark on a captivating study abroad experience in Spain’s culturally rich Basque Region with Visual Arts Professor Amy Friend. This area is celebrated for its vibrant traditions, unique cuisine, and cultural festivals, all set against a stunning backdrop of diverse landscapes. Along the coast, you’ll encounter picturesque fishing villages, rugged cliffs, and sandy beaches, while inland you’ll explore the lush terrain of the UNESCO-designated “Basque Coast – Urdaibai Biosphere Reserve.”

The course includes visits to the bustling city of Bilbao, where you’ll explore the iconic Guggenheim Museum and Ribera Market, with a home base in the medieval Casco Viejo district.

Moving along the coast, we will visit San Juan Gaztelugatxe, a renowned pilgrimage site where a hermitage crowns a rugged hill connected to the mainland by a 241-step stone bridge. Recently, San Juan Gaztelugatxe gained international fame as the filming location for “Game of Thrones,” representing Dragonstone Island.

Further along the coast, we’ll visit the historic village of Getaria on the Bay of Biscay, home to the Balenciaga Museum. This modern structure overlooking the sea houses an extensive collection of Cristobal Balenciaga’s designs, celebrating his legacy in the world of fashion.

Next stop is San Sebastián (Donostia in Basque), where students will engage with the city’s distinctive cultural life, culinary traditions, and coastal environment. The itinerary extends to a nearby excursion to Pasaia, recognized for its significant maritime heritage, and to the San Telmo Museum. Housed in a 16th-century Dominican convent characterized by Renaissance and Gothic architecture, the museum was expanded in 2011 with a contemporary architectural wing. Its collections and exhibitions foreground Basque art, history, and cultural traditions, situating them in dialogue with broader contemporary perspectives.

Inland, we will visit Guernica and its Peace Museum. Guernica is known for the devastating aerial bombardment in 1937 by German and Italian forces at Franco’s request during the Spanish Civil War. This tragic event inspired Picasso’s famous painting, Guernica, displayed in Madrid’s Museo Reina Sofia.

A central component of the course will be participation in the International Getxo Image Festival in Getxo, Spain. This annual event, dedicated to photography and the visual arts, presents work by both established and emerging artists within distinctive urban settings. Students will have the opportunity to engage directly with festival directors, curators, and participating artists, fostering critical dialogue around visual storytelling and examining the role of cultural in shaping social engagement and community discourse.

This course is open to all students, with no prior arts experience necessary. Extra costs are associated with the course. The travel portion involves substantial walking and hiking to visit heritage sites, so participants must be physically able to meet these demands.

Course Content

  • International Experiential Learning: Discover the influence of art on society and the economy in the Basque region of Spain building connections to our home base in Canada.
  • Community and Cultural Engagement: Explore key cultural institutions to understand how art shapes individual, community, and national identity.
  • Hands-On Art Creation: Engage in choice driven creative projects across select media options include: drawing, painting, photography, sound,  video,  multi-media,  and mixed media—while learning how creative expression enhances connections to oneself and the broader world. No previous art experience is required.
  • Reflective and Creative Research: Use reflective practice and creative research in project-based assignments to deepen your understanding of art’s role in culture and community.
  • Collaborative Learning and Peer Interaction: Participate in group discussions, collaborative activities, and peer exchanges to experience art’s power as a tool for expression and social change and economic development.