The UF in Lille Engineering and Art program will be showcasing students’ work in conjunction with the Gainesville City Artwalk on January 27th from 7pm to 10pm at City Church Gainesville. The UF in Lille program is a unique study abroad program that allows engineering students the opportunity to explore their creative side and be immersed in French culture and history, all alongside taking a science class at University Catholic of Lille, France.

The course is designed to help engineering students adapt to their international location by taking them into the streets and museums of Lille, France. Most of the students have never drawn before and are uneasy with art. Students are assigned readings that consider the nature of what it means to create in a foreign environment, and discuss the importance of museums as a visual dictionary for new artistic vocabulary. They are encouraged to do tracings of the building materials that make up the city and take drawing walks that help them translate their experiences into two-dimensional modes of communication. In each of these assignments the students are pushed out of their comfort zones and given the tools necessary to navigate their time abroad. This art show is the culmination of their efforts last summer.