MY STUDENT MOBILITY IN PARIS: Ana Azdejković

Ana Azdejković
University of Arts in Belgrade, Faculty of Fine Arts

Erasmus+ Mobility for Studies at:

Academy of fine arts in Paris, France

I am grateful that I had the opportunity to spend 5 months at the École Nationale Supérieure des Beaux  Arts in Paris.  this experience was full of new discoveries, knowledge and changes that affected me deeply.  The opportunity to experience the dynamics of the school as well as life in Paris, as a lighthouse for artists, was a dream coming true, maybe even the beginning of it because I would to return after I finish my MA.  Living in a city like the capital of France is, brings on a lot of various challenges, as much beauty and fairy tales you can find as many dark things you can see as well. It took me a while to get used to the amount of incredible masterpieces in museums and then also the homeless people who were sleeping in front of them. I felt a kind of guilt because of my circumstances and because of their misfortune. However, over time I realized that I could not always help each of them, but I tried as much as possible to make it easier for them.  Anyway, to return to the museums, I remember the first time I entered  musée  d’Orsay, I felt like it was illegal to be in a room full of paintings that I had only seen in books until then, and don’t let me start with artifacts from Egypt in Louvre! Oh my!

I mostly spent my time at the university, library or museums and dedicated myself to studying.  Except Paris, I only went to the one more place, Van Gogh’s village, his last destination. Other trips would have required much more money and considering that the scholarship covered only half of the total price for accommodation and that I was mostly dependent on my sources of money, I had to save it and use it wisely. But that didn’t stop me from peeking into many cultures through different museums and also Paris, which is a jewel in itself.  Full of history, dreams and dreamers.  Working at ENSBA, was a great thing for me, it gave me the chance and courage to dive into a new era of my creativity.  At my faculty in Serbia, I mostly painted, however, on this exchange, I gathered my courage and turned my love for color, painting and mosaic into a sculpture, which I was making by day and night.  I believe that I would not have dared to do that if I had not gone to this exchange.

The dynamics are slightly different from those at my school. I liked the commitment of the professors as well as the atmosphere in my studio.  Long talks about art, life and love were held at any time of the day, during coffee breaks, the creation of artworks or long walks near the river.  The friendships I made will last a lifetime, people from all over the world who were brought together by love for art and then shared love and care for each other made my experience so much better. I am happy to know them and have them in my life!  The overall experience of this exchange is told here in very small lines, many things happened, both beautiful and ugly, but it cannot fit on one side of the paper.  So I would describe this experience as a traditional Mexican drink named   “Clamato” the mixture of flavours of which at first makes you wish you hadn’t tried it, then somewhere between the throat and the stomach makes it interesting so that in the end you like it and want to try it again! the secret ingredients are tomatoes, oysters, salt and beer, to translate it, sadness, love, happiness and friendship!