Introduction

Studio 56 organizes exciting vacation workshops in gorgeous locations around the world. Our goal is to deliver a fun learning experience that is in equal parts art instruction and a tourist experience. We are aware that our customers spend a considerable amount of money to attend and our intention is to exceed our customer’s expectations by delivering an unforgettable vacation package that will motivate customers to travel with us again.

Studio 56 workshops are led by a Tour Manager and an Instructor who work together to deliver an unforgettable experience.

Role of the Tour Manager

The Tour Manager tracks the whereabouts of the participants, arrives with tickets to activities, and keeps the group on a schedule (if that is important). The Tour Manager may also deal with solving problems that impact the experience of the participants such as ill health and the need for medical assistance, lost materials, changing hotel rooms, finding drinking water, and finding public bathrooms, etc.

The Tour Manager assists the Instructor in selecting the location of the 5 workshops in advance of the arrival of the participants so that the locations can be communicated to the participants at the start of the workshop. This is so as to ensure that everyone knows where they are supposed to be and when. The location of each workshop is the Instructor’s decision as the Instructor will be looking for a site/subject that is exciting for them to sketch/teach but the Tour Manager helps ensure that the chosen locations are spacious, in the shade, quiet, walkable and near bathrooms.

During the tourist activities, the Tour Manager will also communicate to the participants that the Instructor is now “off” and needs time to rest.

The Tour Manager will welcome participants at the Welcome Reception and briefly outline the activity plan for the week. At the Farewell Dinner, the Tour Manager will thank participants and the Instructor.

The Role of the Instructor

The Instructor teaches a 2-3 hour art class every day for the 5 days of the workshop. This art class can be broken up into two 1-hour art classes if the instructor prefers. While participants are encouraged to bring their materials to the tourist activities after the official art class (as there may be opportunities for sketching), the Instructor is not expected to teach all day. Neither are the participants expected to sketch all day as they may be tired in the afternoons and ready to move on to something else.

We know that participants arrive expecting to learn new skills, explore a new place and make new friends. With this in mind, the Instructor and the Tour Manager attend the tourist activities with the participants and are working together to develop a comradery amongst the participants and to deliver a very positive experience for our customers without favouritism for individual participants.

While the vacation package may be named for the instructor such as, “John Smith’s Amsterdam Vacation Workshop”, the instructor and the Tour Manager are working together to serve the participants. It is the participant's vacation workshop and our focus is on the participants.

The Instructor will welcome participants at the Welcome Reception and may briefly outline the teaching plan for the week. And the Instructor will thank participants and the Tour Manager at the end of the workshop during the Farewell Dinner.

Teaching Methods

Studio 56 welcomes the unique teaching and communication style of each instructor. However, participants expect that each day the instructor will gather the students around them, will outline the subject for the day, will communicate the goal of the lesson, and will actively teach with demos and shared tips. The participants expect that the instructor will cheerfully answer questions and discreetly offer suggestions to individual students in areas where they could improve.

Participant Skill Levels

Instructors should expect that workshop participants could range from complete beginners to more advanced sketchers. All should be made to feel welcome. Instructors will discourage competition between participants as everyone is working at their own level. Some participants will easily pick up the tips of the instructor and others will struggle to absorb all the information. That’s ok. The Tour Manager and the Instructor will work together to manage the expectations of the participants.

Workshop Locations

While the Tour Manager and Instructor make every effort to select comfortable and inspiring workshop locations, things happen and sometimes the exact location of the art class needs to change without warning because of inclement weather or unexpected obstacles. The Tour Manager and the Instructor will work together to find an alternative location and to mitigate the expectations of the participants who have been told in advance that the exact locations are subject to change. The Tour Manager and the Instructor will work together to move the participants from one location to the next as a group. 

Let's have fun!

Vacation workshops should be fun for the participants, the Instructor and the Tour Manager. Let's keep the tone of the vacation workshop as fun and enjoyable as possible for the entire group.