Among the many icon painting schools available today in various countries, our school is distinct by the following features:    

Truly International Outreach
We are one of the very few icon painting programs taking part in a traditionally Eastern Christian country, but offered in English and attuned to the needs of the international audience. The format of a summer school, the duration that allows you to get immersed into the art, but still fits into an average vacation time-slot, an intensive cultural program, and housing and learning facilities close to Western standards make the school a really good choice for those wishing to combine learning with an unforgettable cultural and spiritual experience.

The Unity of Theological, Liturgical, and Artistic Experiences
Our credo is that iconography is a way of prayer and spiritual endeavor deeply rooted in the faith of the Church and the aesthetic system of Byzantine Christianity. Therefore we create an opportunity for our students not only to get competent instruction in icon painting, but also to attend theoretical courses on the theology and theory of art as well as to participate in daily liturgical services. Moreover, the process of the student’s learning is facilitated by numerous excursions and field-lectures on the rich collections of ancient icons in local museums and other monuments of Church art and architecture.

Learning the Western Ukrainian Iconographic Tradition
From a great variety of existing iconographic traditions, we focus on the authentic western Ukrainian school of icon-painting: its original painting technique, distinct use of materials, unique features of style and composition. While the western Ukrainian icon-painting school constitutes an integral part of the universal Christian iconographic tradition, it also boasts a high degree of originality and a distinctive local flavor, which we invite our students to appreciate. Our school is probably the only place in the world where you can get initiated into the authentic technique of the western Ukrainian iconography of its classical period (15th -16th centuries.) (See examples in our Photo Gallery). This is thanks to a professional team of instructors and a well chosen selection of courses and other activities that facilitate the students’ learning process.

Rich Cultural Program    
Last but not least, taking place in the charming historical town of Lviv, the program has a strong cultural element (city tours, field-trips to various interesting spots, attending cultural and recreational events in the city and the area), which will make your stay with us an unforgettable experience of immersion in Ukrainian culture, history and its dynamic present-day life.