Instituto Allende, San Miguel de Allende
San Miguel de Allende
Mexico
Tel: 52 415 152 0190
Concierge.com's insider take:
Stirling Dickinson, one of the original incubators of San Miguel's art scene, helped form this art school in the 1940s in a rambling 18th-century summer home. The institute boomed in the 1960s, drawing students from throughout Mexico alongside U.S. veterans studying under the G.I. Bill. Its popularity hasn't waned since. Serious students and amateurs alike study painting, sculpting, photography, jewelry-making, weaving, and other arts in a collection of studios interspersed with landscaped gardens. Visitors can sign up for workshops and art classes—the photo sessions are especially helpful when you tour this photogenic city. The institute is also a leading Spanish-language school and offers classes lasting a week or more at all levels.—Maribeth Mellin