TROY – Students in Troy University’s art and design program will get the opportunity to collaborate on a project with international partners and learn about Scandinavian culture at the same time.

TROY students and faculty members will leave Thursday for Europe and a 10-day study-abroad opportunity at Halmstad University in Sweden, according to Jerry Johnson, chair of the Department of Art and Design. Troy University students and their counterparts in Halmstad will develop a multimedia internet presence, a project that will combine traditional art and modern web technology, Johnson said.

“This is a great opportunity for our students to experience another culture and to work with their peers from another university on a worthwhile project,” Johnson said. “The students will go beyond the traditional study-abroad experience; they are not going to Sweden to observe, they are going to work and learn.”

Johnson said the website project will promote the work of a colony of Macedonian artists. It will take several months to complete and plans are in the works for the students from Halmstad to visit Troy during spring semester to complete the project.

“The purpose of the site will be to help these native Macedonian artists share their art with the world,” Johnson said. “We wanted to choose a project that would have an international dimension.”

TROY students scheduled to make the trip with Johnson and Greg Skaggs, assistant professor of art and design, are Jeffery Hake of Moulton, Daniel Leary of Troy and Josh Yohn of Dothan. The TROY delegation will also meet with internationally renowned designer Karen Blincoe, director and founder of the ICIS Centre, an international graphic design consulting firm.

The travel itinerary includes tours of museums in Demark and Sweden, including a visit to the Museum of World Culture in Gothenberg, Sweden.

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