Having the Best Time of Our Lives

Posted on by efsbnews

By Chloe Duay (Switzerland) & Clara Tempel (Germany)

Since we have been here, we have done some activities that we don’t have in our countries. We are roommates so we do a lot of things together. We want to speak about some of them.

Condor Express Whales Watching
The first activity we did together at Santa Barbara was to see dolphins and whales. We reserved our places with Condor Express Whale Watching company. The activity lasted 4.30 hours. We left the harbor at 9 a.m. and returned at 2.30 p.m. First, we saw seals, then a lot of dolphins and, finally, a big whale. It was the first time that we went on a cruise along the coast. We were amazed and we recommend this activity for the person who wants to see sea animals. Even during the pandemic restrictions, they are able to host a wonderful day out on the water. There was limited capacity on the boat and everyone had to wear the masks so it felt very safe. It was a perfect way to see the Santa Barbara Channel and maybe one day we will go there again.

Horse riding
Our second activity was a horse riding tour. We did this activity with Circle Bar B Stables and we chose the option for the half day.
We had an appointment in the morning at their ranch where we were each assigned a horse. Then they explained to us how to guide the horse. After that, we started our walk quietly following each other. It was also our first time that we went horse riding, but we wanted to try it one time. Throughout the trail, the view was amazing ! We could see the wonderful landscape. We were even able to try the gallop. It was our favorite activity up to now and we really recommend this one. Awesome experience!

Surfing

This was our first time surfing in Santa Barbara. We searched on the Internet for a surfing school because we wanted to do that with some friends. We took a Lyft to Mondos beach. A truck was near the beach with all the stuff we needed for surfing. After we put on the wetsuits, we went down to the beach and the teacher explained to us how to stand up. Then we went into the water. First, it was a little bit complicated to stand up, but then we got used to it and the teacher always helped us. It was amazing and fun. We enjoyed our surfing lesson. 

Hiking

This is a photo from the hiking we did with EF. The taxi driver picked us up at the school and drove us to Saddle Rock Trail. There we went up with Megan and her dog. It was exhausting because it was very hot, but the view was amazing as you can see in the picture. We stayed there to enjoy the view and took pictures. Then we went back and the taxi driver picked us up again and took us back to the school. Normally, it’s hard to reach the trails without a car so it was a nice activity.

Posted on by efsbnews

Education First Annual International Day March 8, 2019.

Does the Street Art have a place in Galleries ?

Posted on by efsbnews

Post graffiti, murals, frescoes or Urban Art, the Universe of the Street Art is known under many appelations. But where does it come from ? What were the changes ?

These different kind of appellations have evolved over time and with the artists in this movement. At the beginning the Street Art was known as “Graffiti” which was an act of vandalism during the 1960/1980s decades. 2018-06-24 11.52.31Nowadays, this form of Art which is exhibited in the international galleries, festivals or fairs like the “Urban Art Fair” in Paris, “District13 Art Fair” in Paris [which is coming soon in September 2018], “Beyond The Streets in Los Angeles” a huge showcase of graffiti and street art or the different festival of POW ! WOW ! in Hawaii, Long Beach, Washington and many other countries in the world.

This big change about Street Art in our time period evolved the attitudes and beliefs in this Art movement. Now, this kind of Art is perceived as cool and “in”, Artists don’t really need to hide anymore. Some of them became famous and can live on the income from their Art. Companies, city halls, associations and different kind of institutions call on these artists to beautify their buildings and facades. Artists are not perceived as “delinquent” like in the past when they could be arrested and go to jail for vandalism, but this fact depends as well on many aspects (location where the artists “graff” and if it can be legal or not).

Street Artists now are reconignized and some of them have their exhibits in Galleries because they deserve to be famous and well-known and live off their passion for their art. Their passion became their profession. However, if Street Art tends to be exhibited in galleries and only in galleries the movement will lose its meaning/value. If Artists forget the space that gave them their reputation, their birth as an Artist and they will expose/exhibit in Galleries, the fact that they wanted and desired to make Art accessible to the street, to people who don’t go on or are used to going in galleries will be lost and the debate on this accessibility and about money and business can be questioned.

2017-04-21 21.01.14

In other words, Artists should continue to do murals on the street and for free when they can/want and they have the right, as well if they wish to show and exhibit their Art in Galleries, Fairs, Festivals etc. Both can be combined for the well-being of each Artists.
E.F