Spring 2018 CET Photography in Prague @ FAMU

I spent the spring term in Prague studying with CET and at FAMU. FAMU is one of the leading art schools in Prague and many alums go on to do incredible things. There is a very tight-knit artist community in Prague, especially when it comes to filmmakers and photographers and studying in Prague at FAMU gave me a sense of that and an access point into that world.

The program is great in that you are required to take several classes with a core group of CET photography students. In my case there were 10 of us CET Photography students so we had 3 main classes together lead by CET. These classes were terrific. I loved our Fine Art Photography course taught by Stepanka Stein. She was an incredible professor and is a very successful photographer as well. In this course we had several small assignments in the beginning of the term, and the later half of the semester was devoted to a larger project of our choosing to be hung in our final exhibition, and the making of a photo book. In addition to regular class meetings we would often visit galleries and exhibitions around Prague as a class, and had several technical lighting seminars (with professional commercial photographers, interesting locations, models, make-up artists, etc.). This class was by far my favorite part of the program and in the end I produced work that I am proud of.

Additionally, we were able to enroll in photography classes at FAMU. This was initially very exciting, however, the system for enrolling was a bit all over the place and therefore we photography students did not have our schedules solidified for at least a month after arriving in Prague. For me, this was a bit of a challenge as I like to have a schedule and stick to it. The courses at FAMU were very different than what I was used to as an art student studying at a Liberal Arts college. I signed up for 3 FAMU electives. None of them had specific assignments but were more spaces for students and their professors to come together to talk about their work and process. I think that is a great system if that is what you're used to it, however, as someone being thrown into these classes not knowing what to expect, it was difficult for me to understand what was expected of me. These classes did prove to be a great way to meet Czech students. It was also very interesting to take classes with FAMU professors as most, if not all of them, are successful photographers and teaching is more of a side gig. Therefore, I was introduced to a lot of well known artists and able to consult with them.

The living situation was terrific. Apartments were clean, furnished with the basic necessities and I had a great experience with my American roommates and my Czech buddy. My apartment was in Praha 7, a terrific neighborhood with easy transportation to the city center, several beautiful parks, great cafes and bars, and lots of art. I could not have asked for a better place to live.