Illustration Summer School

Since 2016, the Illustration School, based in Porto (Portugal), aims to investigate the expanded role of the illustrator as researcher, editor, publisher and working across media. The Summer 2018 edition, from the 16–21 July, focuses on the relation between illustration and food, exploring a variety of approaches to illustration and the construction of visual narratives via architecture, recipes and publishing. Through a series of workshops and food-related field trips and talks in six intensive days, this school will expose multiple ways in which different disciplines inform each other and contribute towards the development of the practice of illustration.

The course will seek to build upon its previous iterations, by traveling through the city and exploring various partnerships depending on the focus of the object of research. The Botanic Garden of Porto, an artisanal chocolatier and an organic agriculture farm and producers are just a few of a list of partners that will provide a diverse range of readings and processes related to this school’s central element: food.

The course puts particular emphasis on the exploration of the importance of collective work and research. Therefore, participants will be working as a group, producing a collective publication at the end of the summer school, documenting all the process of the week, as well as tools and methods used.

Application deadline
Applications must be submitted on-line by the 1st June, 2018.
Duration: One week
Dates: 16–21 July
Location: Rua Coutinho de Azevedo 22, Porto, Portugal
No of participants: 15 max
Fee: 490 euros
(Fee includes tuition, materials, workspace, workshops, lectures, and guided tours. It doesn’t include accommodation, travel (flights) to and from the course, and daily meals.)

Course leader

Karen Lacroix is an illustrator, designer and publisher based in Porto, Portugal. She has taught visual narratives since 2009 at Richmond University (UK) and works for an eclectic range of clients such as Bright Ivy, English Touring Opera, Saffron Hall, B

Target group

This course—and the school—is traditionally open and encouraging the participation of artists, architect, designers and illustrators at both BA, MA and PhD levels. The groups are diverse, often with complementary backgrounds and specialities, and the tutors aim to adapt to the participants’ different academic levels and interests.

Course aim

The course puts particular emphasis on the exploration of the importance of collective work and research. Therefore, participants will be working as a group, producing a collective publication at the end of the summer school, documenting all the process of the week, as well as tools and methods used.

Credits info

This course is not credited nor validated by an academic institution. It exists in the series of seminars provided by the research platform Illustration School, under the umbrella of the design research centre Shared Institute.

Fee info

EUR 600: Fee includes tuition, materials, workspace, workshops, lectures, and guided tours. It doesn’t include accommodation, travel (flights) to and from the course, and daily meals.