TROY--While college students flocked to the beaches of Florida for summer break, a Troy University student and professor recently visited another shore— the Dragor River in the Republic of Macedonia—in a continuing effort to promote the arts.

Assistant professor of design Sara Dismukes and Troy University international relations graduate student Sheetal Nangia recently spent a week at the 25th International Exhibition of Children’s Paintings, where they visited students, teachers, and other officials in Bitola, Macedonia. Macedonia, an independent nation in southeastern Europe, was once a part of the former nation of Yugoslavia.

“I collected raw materials like photos, videos, notes and conducted interviews with the students and teachers of the high school,” Nangia said.

The Macedonia trip is one of many projects that the Troy University Department of Art and Design, and its collaborators, Halmstad University in Sweden, will take part in as part of a larger effort to use the arts to bridge gaps between cultures. Halmstad students and faculty are assisting TROY in the development of the institute iC3 (International Center for Collaboration and Creativity).

Dismukes and Nangia traveled to Bitola in order to gather materials for a website that will coincide with the iC3 project. The festival was chosen as the first project because “it is such a great example in spirit of what we would like to see happen with iC3,” Dismukes said

Linking with former TROY speech professor Dr. Ellen Gorsevski and her husband, Dr. Peter Gorsevski, a Macedonia native, was a key to the success of the trip. The couple acted as guides and interpreters.

“We were amazingly productive while we were there,” Dismukes said.

The city of Bitola is an important industrial, agricultural, commercial, educational, and cultural center for Macedonia. During the festival young people from 50 different countries line the streets with their easels, canvases and paints, creating their artwork in front of onlookers.

“It was an amazing experience,” said Nangia, “it has helped me explore more options for my future.”

Jerry Johnson, chair of the Department of Art and Design at Troy University, said a delegation from Halmstad University will visit Troy in the fall to continue work on the iC3 project. Johnson said the project could establish a framework for cultural exchange.

“I believe that if cultures and nations could hold hands while working to solve mutual problems for other cultures, then great strides could be made in not delineating our differences, but rather harmonizing them,” Johnson said.

--end--

1st photo: A colorful poster advertising the start of the festival in Bitola

2nd photo: Sara Dismukes, right, and Sheetal Nangia, far left, pose with students participating in the festival

3rd photo: Dr. Peter Gorsevski, right, translates for Sara Dismukes, second from right, to some of the teachers at the festival

4th photo: Students find an inspirational spot set up their easels and begin creating their art during the festival