Students and guests gather outside the Institut für Alles Mögliche on opening night of the “art and other objects” exhibition, eating pizza and commemorating the end of the study trip. Photo by Mya Nicole Jones.
Zeitgeist is the spirit of a particular period of time reflected in its ideas and beliefs including but not limited to arts and culture. This summer students embarked on a journey through Germany via SAIC’s Study Abroad program “Zeitgeist: Germany.” Throughout the trip, students were given an academic and culturally rich opportunity to grow in their creative practices.
Alongside professors Oliver Sann and Beate Geissler, students spent two weeks experiencing the zeitgeist of Germany visiting Münich, Loheland, Kronach, Weimar, and Berlin. Students received credit for the trip by planning and showing their own exhibition in gallery space provided by Institut für Alles Mögliche. Students presented multimedia work created over the course of the trip and titled the show “and other objects.”
“and other objects” exhibition poster designed by students and composited by typewriter and photoshop by Tina Tang.
Sann shared his thoughts on the trip with F Newsmagazine: “ ‘The Flying Classroom’ is about what happened to a group of students at a boarding school. The narrative is magical, thrilling – I always had distinct ideas about the classroom that could fly. Learning about people, architecture, countries, landscapes and histories by witnessing them became a tenet of my ideas and imaginations about what experiential pedagogy can be. With the SAIC study trip we traveled this year not only in space but also time – [The] epitome of our trip was the [student] artist-curated exhibition entitled ‘and other objects.’ It was exciting to see what different routes people took and how vastly different impulse and feedback was, which was processed by the artists in this show.”
Students gather around Chris Ahman as he discusses how the study trip impacted his untitled collection of photos. Photo provided by Institut für Alles Mögliche.
Julieta Beltran on the floor of the Institut für Alles Mögliche gallery completing her water color works titled “Comuna.” Photo by Adrienne Weiss.
Students gathering around “Gorlitzer Park” by Tom White (on the floor) as he shares the story that took place in Berlin inspiring the piece. Photo by Mya Nicole Jones.
Many students left Europe with new friends and a wider perspective on arts, culture, and education. Some students continued their momentum and continued to travel independently or with other members of the group.
New found friends Rin Caswell (BFA Print and Fibers 2025) and River Hill (BFA New Media 2026) shared their experience of meeting and collaborating on their “and other objects” installation.
Caswell: “I’m happy with what I made. I’m happy that I had the chance to collaborate with someone who I didn’t know at the beginning of the trip—It just feels really amazing to cultivate something from nothing. And then by the end of the trip, have something that feels so cohesive and so collaborative, which is something I’ve never felt before with my art—it’s amazing to take my art past me.”
Hill: “It [the trip] forced me to think outside of my own practice, as well as being in an incredibly new area. I had to approach it [the piece] from an outside angle. My good friend Rin and I ended up collaborating in a way, in a sense, both collaborating together and also keeping the pieces separate. I felt like it was important to memorialize this [trip] in a physical manifestation. That was a documentation of every location, every place that we’ve been. This trip, I was able to create that in a very successful way that is true to my work.”
Collaborative installation, in front, found object sculpture “impermanence 1” by River Hill, on the wall, found object and relief print “impermanence 2” by Rin Caswell. Photo by Mya Nicole Jones.
Adrienne Weiss (MFA Fibers 2025), who spent her time reflecting on heritage, health, and history through her weaving, also expressed, “I feel like the history of this country got me to connect with my roots, with my ancestors, and with healing.”
“At the end of each day when the ants emerge from their subterranean home, we paint our feet with honey so the blood doesn’t drain from our bodies into the soil” by Adrienne Weiss. Found branches, mix dyed cotton, wool, and novelty yarn. Photo provided by Institut für Alles Mögliche
This is one of many summer study trips offered by SAIC. This summer SAIC brought students to Germany, Italy, and Arizona in the United States. There are multitudes of experiences to be shared with the SAIC Study Abroad program as new destinations and programs come to the course every year. Where can a look at global zeitgeist take you?
Group photo of study trip students at Castle Kronach. Photo by Beate Geissler.
Group photo of study trip students in Münich having dinner. Photo by Beate Geissler.
