Sunday marked the final full day of the Deans Global Honors Seminar London 2016 experience. On Monday the students fly back to New York or move on to other study away destinations, and I fly over to Dublin to open a show on Thursday. Stay tuned for more on that
I met with the students in small groups today to discuss their final projects. Each student presented a brief two-minute overview of their project, and the other students in the group were able to ask questions and make comments with the intention of helping to clarify the project and strengthen it for the final submission. I thoroughly enjoyed the two hours of hearing about these projects, and I'm actually looking forward to experiencing them on January 22. We will then meet as a class again on January 29 to debrief our trip to London and have a final session together to close out the seminar.
After those meetings, I traveled to St. James' Park where I met Orla Hasson and her two sons, Luke and Isaac. We had a lovely walk around the park, past Buckingham Palace, and then stopped in for some tea and hot chocolate. After that lovely time together, as we walked back to the tube stop, the setting sun made some beautiful colors in the sky, particularly just above and beyond Buckingham Palace. Orla and I both commented about the winter light that afternoon, so I snapped a picture. Later I realized that the setting sun behind Buckingham Palace served as an excellent metaphor for the final evening of this London adventure. I started the week not terribly thrilled about being in London, as it's not my favorite city. But as I end my experience this week, I'm grateful for the friends and colleagues I've been able to re-connect with, the art and facilitation I've been able to witness, and the students I've been able to interact with each day over the past week. I finally felt comfortable in London these past few days, and of course, now it's time to move on to the next project and then back home for the next semester.
The setting winter sun behind Buckingham Palace.
We had our final group dinner in London at Wagamama, and it was great to see how far we've come as a community of artists and thinkers. The food was nice, the conversation was flowing, and the picture below sums up what a strong group these students have become. I'm also grateful to my NYU Washington Square colleagues Jeanne Bannon and Rachel Whorton for their incredible support this week. I've had a great time traveling, talking, and witnessing with them, and I hope we can do it again in the future!
DGHS London 2016 at Wagamama for our final group dinner!