Discover where your creativity can take you.
INTERNSHIP
Arts-based internships to build your resume.
SERVICE
Arts activism and creative service project opportunities.
PRACTICE
Professional artist mentorship and artistic practice.
IMMERSION
Arts-focused travel and optional French language learning.
WELCOME TO BERRIDGE
CREATIVE GAP SEMESTER
Cultivate global perspectives and make connections with like-minded creatives from around the world.
The Berridge Creative Semester offers a unique opportunity to combine artistic practice, cultural immersion, arts internship and creative service on your gap year. Live in a French chateau and work closely with professional artists to find inspiration and practical applications for your work. The program offers experiential learning and creative opportunities in Normandy and around France.
CULTURAL IMMERSION
WEEKS 1&2
Your semester in France starts with a two-week cultural immersion in the Normandy Peninsula.
From the D Day Landing Beaches to Medieval Bayeux, you’ll have guided tours of all the best sites as you gather artistic inspiration. You’ll explore the language, food and traditions of the French through hands-on experiences. Work on a cider making farm, navigate an authentic French market or master traditional French dishes. The immersion week gets you fired up on French culture and ready to create!
ARTS INTENSIVE
WEEKS 3&4
Go deeper into what you love with two weeks of mentored artistic practice.
Work with professional actors, filmmakers, artists, writers and producers from around the world. Build skills, create a portfolio, shoot a film or study the lead in a play. Focus on an art you love or try something completely new. You’ll be assigned a personal mentor to help you move projects from concept to completion and have time and space to develop work, get feedback, collaborate with peers and enjoy life in rural Normandy, France.
Cultivate fresh artistic perspectives.
YOUR CHOICE
WEEKS 5&6
ARTS INTERNSHIP
Help us run the hospitality business at the chateau through an arts internship! We have opportunities in social media marketing, video production, website design, copywriting and more. Build your resume and skills with an arts-focused internship.
LANGUAGE LEARNING
The chateau becomes your language school with two weeks of daily classes, practice and immersion experiences in the Normandy Peninsula. Language is taught one-to-one and is suitable for every level from complete beginner through advanced.
FILMMAKING INTENSIVE
For those interested in going deeper with Independent Digital Filmmaking, weeks 5&6 offer the opportunity to focus completely on filmmaking projects. If you are majoring in Film, you can shoot an additional project or work on a longer project. If you are new to Film, you can learn Filmmaking from the ground up.
Find creative solutions to real world problems.
ARTS IN ACTION
WEEKS 7&8
Discover how your art can be a force for good in the community and around the world.
We’ll connect you with a local community-based project or help you develop an activism project around something you are passionate about. Apply your creative talents to raise awareness about poverty or climate change, raise funds for a cause or spearhead an outreach project. Around the world or around the corner, we’ll help you find ways to apply your art to change lives for the better.
ARTS ADVENTURE
WEEK 9 - PARIS
The group travels to Paris for a week-long arts adventure!
See Paris through the artists lens and explore all that this great city has to offer. Our week in Paris will include all of the must-see sites including The Eiffel Tower, Arc de Triomphe, Luxembourg Gardens and Sacre-Coeur. You'll have insiders tours of the Louvre and Musee D'Orsay and time to explore the Latin Quarter, Montparnasse and the boutiques in Saint Germain des Pres. The week includes an independent creative project, researching, writing and/or filming, to be presented to the group when we return.
ARTSFEST
WEEK 10
Your semester in France culminates with a week-long arts festival.
We’ll open the château to the local community and share the work you’ve created during your time with us. Film premieres, gallery shows and performances celebrate the creative spirit and the power of art. Your mentor will help you reflect on your practice, set future goals for yourself and digest new experiences. And we’ll make sure you get to say a proper good-bye to new friends, colleagues and mentors.
Connect with creatives from around the world.
STUDENTS
AT CREATIVE SEMESTER
We welcome passionate, adventurous young artists from all disciplines.
Creative Semester is for every young artist at every stage of their development. You might have a lot of experience in a discipline, you might have just a little. You might be certain of what creative path you want to take, you might still be searching. Wherever you are at on your journey, we'll work with you to make sure your gap time with us enriches your artistic practice, ignites your creative spirit and moves you closer to your future goals.
FACULTY
AT CREATIVE SEMESTER
Our faculty bring with them decades of experience as industry professionals.
Live in a creative community with working artists and benefit from their experience and wisdom. You'll be assigned a personal mentor to help you develop your projects, build skills and reflect on your artistic practice. Our faculty are more than just teachers, they are passionate artists, nurturing mentors and enthusiastic collaborators. Read more about our faculty or meet us at an Info Session.
CHATEAU
LE MONT EPINGUET
Creative Semester is hosted at Chateau le Mont Epinguet in the heart of Normandy, France.
Built in 1751 by Count Mondesir, the chateau is the highest landmark on the Normandy Cotentin Peninsula. It has housed a nephew of the Pope, a French Admiral and served as German command in WWII. In 1991, it was bought by the Berridge Family. We have exclusive use of the whole property, a live-in chef who prepares home-cooked meals and fresh bread delivered daily from our bakery. Learn more about the château
Program
BERRIDGE CREATIVE SEMESTER
Jan 24th - April 3rd, 2022
Duration: 10 weeks
Disciplines
All artistic disciplines welcome including Theatre, Film, Studio Art, Writing, Dance, Graphic Design, Photography.
Tuition
$13,500 USD
Inclusive of: all room, board, airport transfers and excursions
Not included: airfare to Paris, Charles de Gaulle. Some meals on days out.
Admissions
Open to any students between the ages of 18 - 22 of all levels of experience. Requires an online application and interview.
Scholarships
A range of scholarships are available for this program.