The Episcopal Academy Arts Department boasts a talented faculty of working, professional artists who emphasize a real-world experiential approach to arts education in addition to the traditional academic approach. Often, however, after spending every day practicing art inside a classroom studio, the outside world, integral to any form of art, can become overshadowed by Episcopal’s concrete walls, confining greenery, and fixed routine. Episcopal’s photography teacher, Charles Collins, will be taking his first sabbatical the second semester of this year in part to address this widespread artistic restraint.
After having taught in the Arts Department at Episcopal for 16 years—eight years in theater production and eight years in photography—Collins will be embarking on his first academic sabbatical starting at the end of the first semester. Previously, in between a career in production and his current position at Episcopal, Collins took time off to travel and focus on his photography, but the opportunity for a sabbatical has not presented itself to him until this year.
“It represents several opportunities for me, not the least of which is just to clear my mind and rejuvenate and refresh myself creatively,” explained Collins in reference to his upcoming sabbatical. He further elaborated, “After teaching for more than 10 years, I think anyone in an educational position should take a sabbatical. I know we get summers off and that helps us in each of our fields, but a longer period every now and then is also necessary.”
Although Collins will be focusing on his personal photography, he is attempting to make his sabbatical an opportunity to fulfill many of his multifaceted goals. “I’ll be doing a lot of academic work,” he remarked. “I’m returning to study and pursue some academic work, and I’ll also continue to edit the two photography books I am currently working on. I’d also of course like to travel to work on my photography, and travel with my kids too.”
Collins will be trading much of Episcopal’s second academic semester for an academic semester of his own, one in which he’ll be the student. He clarified, “I’m going to take some courses in fine arts and photography education, focusing on studying how digital technology has changed human perspective and interaction. I’ll be studying at Cambridge.” Cambridge, England, he specified, and not Cambridge, Massachusetts. “No, not Cambridge, Massachusetts, they wouldn’t take me back there,” he joked, referring to his time at Harvard University’s graduate school. “It was a waste of time anyway,” he added in his signature sarcasm.
In addition to furthering his art and his academic ambitions, Collins will also focus on travelling and seeing more of the world, something that is very important to him and his global approach to photography. His tenure of 16 years at Episcopal, however, has limited his traveling opportunities, particularly in regard to time limitations on travel in the summer months. “I’m looking forward to the opportunity to travel at different times of the year than just the summer, which I haven’t been able to do for a long time,” he explained. “It’s a huge opportunity for me.”
Where Collins will be travelling to, however, is as much a mystery to him as it is for anyone else. He has few set plans for the upcoming months. “I’ll definitely be going to Barbados, where some of my family is from,” he mused. “I’ll be in England for roughly three months, mostly between Cambridge where I’ll be studying, and London.” Hong Kong and the possibility of a trip to Hawaii with his family are other options he is considering, but not much is set in stone. “I definitely don’t have it all planned out; I don’t want to. I want to leave it as open as possible. The only set plans are England.”
The openness and possibility to which Collins attaches his upcoming sabbatical call to mind the importance of having outside perspective in artistic education, and the freedom that creativity needs to flourish. However, Collins sees this brief leave as important in a broader sense. He explained, “As a human being, not just a teacher or artist, it’s important to have time off to pursue what you want outside of a routine.”
The Episcopal Academy