Selection of Location for MIRA, FRANCE
From the summer of 1997 until spring 1998, I studied, traveled and even found employment while enjoying a post-college, pre-life requisite stay in Europe. After graduating from college with a degree in Human Services (sociology) with other concentrations in the fine arts and French, I set out to put these book learned lessons into realized life lessons by spending the better part of a year wandering aimlessly through Europe.
To begin I followed an intensive conversational French course at L’Institut de Touraine in Tours, France. From there I set out to not only improve my French language ability but immerse myself in the culture for an extended period of time and found that Provence with its connotations of warm sunlight and a relaxed way of life perfectly suited my geographic needs. I was fortunate enough to be invited to live and work at a small YMCA conference centre in Sanary-sur-Mer located a few blocks from the Mediterranean Sea.
While at Le Centre Azur I lived in a typical Provencal Farmhouse (Mas) and worked in a kitchen, preparing and serving meals to groups ranging in size from 20 to 100. As very few, if any of my co-workers spoke English while also incorporating a strong penchant for public ridicule, I was forced to employ my spotty at best French. I learned quickly that you spoke fast or not at all. As the mockery was mostly in fun, it provided a clear view into the inner workings of a microcosm resting within one of the more highly desirable destinations in the world. This fact alone started my mind racing and my pen moving as I sought to understand just what made this place such an enviable destination.
This first study was mere observation. I had little training in the specific area of cultural science needed to understand a group of that nature; furthermore, my French was average at best. I kept Le Centre Azur and the lessons learned locked in my head for 8 years, only re-visiting the area a few times.
As I enter the third year of study towards a Master of Fine Arts in Graphic Design, I felt that my creative project topic needed to have three important criteria:
- It should be interesting
- It should be researched based
- It should further the field of graphic design
As I explored topics of research in the context of my graduate education, I returned to Le Centre Azur to consider how I could explore and communicate the context of the Centre and consider how it relates to the overall conception of Sanary, a tourist town located on the French Riviera.
From June 23 to August 20 of 2005 I returned to once again live and work at the conference center, this time armed with improve French language skills, a budding understanding of ethnography and a strong desire to grasp the local culture through the eyes of a tourist, long-term tourist (seasonal local) and true local.
Le Centre Azur, UCJG: website
Located in Sanary-sur_mer, France, Le Centre Azur is a year round conference center existing to support those that would not normally be able to vacation, study and/or visit the region. During the summer The Center welcomes the disabled as well as many school groups from all over Europe. The staff is made up of French, German, Italian and sometimes American employees.
Sanary-sur-Mer, France: website
Quis, lucidus vicis vel interdico consectetuer. Sino, exerci, dolus, ad saepius valetudo validus ex imputo tamen, quidne. Pala veniam caecus at, et, jugis in augue populus saluto veniam velit multo nimis. Laoreet ludus damnum quis, facilisi lobortis. In ex illum molior opto similis hendrerit metuo vulpes causa ex, dolore. Importunus commoveo suscipit te transverbero aliquip genitus huic ut comis.
