Visual arts education of the St. Petersburg I. E. Repin Institute in Kotka, Finland

[dmitri]

I studied at this course this year, and liked it so much I want to get it better known. It's sadly a little late in the game with the deadline being next week, but I want to get the name of the place out - with all the ateliers getting so much attention, I figured this also ought to be interesting for people here. I'm not much of a speaker, so I'll let the official text tell it's tale and if anyone has anyone questions just go ahead and ask.
(I've asked permission to post this, umm, ad.)

Visual arts education of the St. Petersburg I. E. Repin Institute
in Kotka , Finland 2009 - 2010
Application deadline 20 May 2009 ( 20.5.2009)

The St. Petersburg Academy of Arts (presently the St. Petersburg I. E. Repin
Institute) was founded in 1757 by order of Empress Elizabeth, and today it is
the most important art education institution in Russia . Instruction includes
daily work in the areas of painting, drawing and composition. It also comprises
lectures and plenty of practical work.
The visual arts education in Kotka will be provided by professors and teachers
of the St. Petersburg I. E. Repin Institute. Interpreter services will be
utilized in the instruction. The central subjects are: drawing (perspective and
plastic anatomy), painting (technology of painting) and composition. The number
of lessons is 25-30 per week.

Application
You can apply for the education by submitting a free-form application together
with your CV and a minimum of five and a maximum of ten samples of your work.
The work samples can be in the form of photos, slides or actual artworks.
Applicants may be called to an interview. The deadline for applications is 20
May 2009 . Please mail your application to: Aleksandra Hintsala, Metsontie 41 A,
FI-48220 Kotka, Finland
or: aleksandra.hintsala@kotka.fi

Instruction
The instruction takes place in the arts classroom of the Kotkan Höyrypanimo.
Students can rent accommodation from Kotkan Opiskelija-asunnot Oy. The nearest
student housing complex, called Koskisoppi, is located two kilometres from
Höyrypanimo. The education costs 140 euros per study week, of which there are
32 in all. The education begins on 1 September 2009 and ends on 20 May 2010.

Additional information
Contact details: Project Manager Aleksandra Hintsala,
tel. +358 (0)40 595 5893, aleksandra.hintsala@kotka.fi
www.kymenlaakso.com/repin-akatemia

[Hyskoa]

Maybe would be best to show the work you had before the academy and after the first year of studying there, maybe describe your personal experience in living there and so on, since moving to Russia is a big step.
Maybe explain how foreign students are treated and so on.
As well as pricing and the costs of living there, equipment costs and so on.
And what they basically require you to know at the end of the first year besides the art.
Such as art history, native language,...

[dmitri]

Not Russia - as it says in the topic, this course is arranged in Finland, which makes it much more accessible than anything in Russia. Being one of those little cozy Scandinavian countries, it's pretty safe to live here and most people speak at least English.
It is rather expensive to live here though, I think the cheapest student apartment (own room, shared kitchen and bathroom) is 190 eur/month. As the school counts as full time studying, it should be possible to get student financial aid.

There have some pictures that have been done at this course here (http://kymenlaakso.com/repin-akatemia/kuvagalleria.htm) on the website... (I'm way too shy to post my own...) The style is more lively and the amount given to one exercise isn't very long, so the results are more painterly than those of most ateliers. This isn't exactly basic training, you get more out of it with previous experience in painting and drawing.

[jrp]

is financial aid avalable to foregin students?

[dmitri]

That would, I think, depend on your country. It is an official school, so you should be able to get it - but I can't be certain. I'm Finnish and got it no problem, but so far there have been no foreign students, so no experience in that, I'm afraid.