October in Bristol

They say ‘home is where the heart is’, although I would have to disagree. Don’t get me wrong, there is no better feeling than being around your most loved family and friends. However, that feeling is closely followed by an unexplainable desire to discover hidden, or famous, art surrounding one’s home. A desire which, I am sure if you clicked on this blog (purposefully and not by accident), you also share.

Starting university is overwhelming to say the least – it’s hard to feel at home in a place many of us have only ever visited, right? The phrase ‘emotional roller-coaster’ springs to mind. Therefore my decision to be pro-active about making Bristol my new home was the best idea I had throughout my first month here. Home is where the heart is? Well my heart longs for ART. And what better place than Bristol to immerse yourself. Lanes full of stunning street art that lead to magnificent medieval buildings are just waiting to be discovered. You cannot help but be swept up in Bristol’s unique culture. For us Art Historians, the sense of home can be found spray painted on a brick wall, and for that, I count us the luckiest students in Bristol. They say home is ‘where the heart is’ but for us, home is definitely where the art is.

We have started our introduction courses; I am taking Introduction to Modern art, Introduction to Medieval Art and Approaching the Object, all of which are immensely enjoyable yet also challenging (reading week will definitely be greeted with open arms). For my first Modern Art essay, I chose to write about The Impressionist Movement, but it’s been so interesting speaking to other students, with a diversity of interests, and discussing what they had chosen.

Every lecture gives me something new to take away and the weekly site visits add a refreshing new style of learning to our timetables (I don’t know about you, but sometimes I need to give myself a break from excessive reading and actually approach art and architecture in person). The lecturers, seminar leaders and my personal tutor are all engaging, interesting and unbelievably welcoming. I’m so happy to be part of such a caring team of staff and students.

– Ellie