Storyboard: Victoria Berry, Patricia Bravo & Luc Limbourg

ArtCenter Europe Forever

In this edition of Storyboard, we meet the co-chairs of ArtCenter AlumNetwork Europe – Victoria Berry, Patricia Bravo and Luc Limbourg. This trifecta of connectors talks about bonds forged and an idea that sparked a coming together of the ArtCenter Switzerland alumni community.

Vicki Berry: Coming from a family of artistically inclined individuals – my mother, a painter, was accepted into ArtCenter’s “downtown” campus – it was natural for me to follow in her creative footsteps from an early age.

Patricia Bravo: My school notebooks were filled with miniature illustrations. Tiny faces. Tiny houses. Tiny landscapes. You name it, I was drawing it.

Luc Limbourg: When I was a kid, my dad gave me one very good piece of advice. “If you want to be an artist and not die of famine,” he told me, “you’ll have to seek out the best in higher education.”

VB: Having grown up in ArtCenter’s backyard (La Cañada), it was always on the radar as a place to further my passion for the arts. Not knowing precisely which field I wanted to pursue (advertising or graphic design), I utilized ArtCenter at Night classes to guide me to my future career in graphic design.

PB: ArtCenter in Europe was the definition of a graphic design community. We were close-knit collaborators. The instructors were hands-on and straightforward. The curriculum was about practical application, as opposed to theory.

LL: The ArtCenter campus in Vevey, Switzerland was very similar to the one located in Pasadena. It was a kind of renegade school – a new kid on the block in a neighborhood full of old-fashioned, highly prestigious European art academies. At the time, Bauhaus and its hands-on tradition had long been gone. ArtCenter's approach was refreshing and got the attention of both the business world and the European art world that was still obsessed with Bauhaus. ArtCenter was a place where one could shake things up.

VB: When I met Luc and Patricia, they already understood the significance of bringing people together and having a global network. Community is an integral part of European culture – checking in regularly with your friends and neighbors isn’t just an obligatory pleasantry, it’s a fact of life for most people who live there.

PB: Social media has made it much easier for the three of us to stay in touch. After graduating from ArtCenter, I didn’t see Luc for almost 26 years – and he was my best friend throughout all of my eight school terms!

LL: On one of my travels, I had to make a stop in Barcelona. After contacting Patricia and Vicki, who live in the region, we decided it would be a great opportunity to see everyone again, and the three of us had an idea:

Hey, why don’t we have an ArtCenter European campus reunion? And why don’t we have it right here, in Barcelona?

LL: Last summer, dozens of our colleagues showed up from all over the world. Congregating in a city with a rich artistic history is one thing, but it would mean nothing without the presence of our extended ArtCenter clan. It’s an immensely satisfying thing to see people you haven't seen in years (people who, in many cases, were in the academic trenches alongside you) and catch up on things after all this time.

PB: We had a great time putting the reunion together. Even though our careers are disparate – Luc has his landscaping business, Vicki continues to work in graphic and communication design – our shared passion is still the same. An ArtCenter bond is about time spent together and history forged through personal experience.

VB: Former Chair of Graphic Design Ramone Muñoz once told me that it is our duty as creative people to live every aspect of our lives creatively. Music, food, home décor…everything should come from a place of inspiration. A conscious extension of our creative selves.

PB: I hope that the next gathering in Rome this October is bigger and even more inclusive. I owe much of the success of these events to Vicki and Luc. Unfortunately, I will not be attending the next alumni gathering because my oldest son is getting married. Still, I will very much be there in spirit.

LL: It’s funny…what began as an idle conversation among longtime friends has now morphed into chance to celebrate each other’s accomplishments…and also to celebrate ArtCenter.

Victoria Berry
BFA 92 Graphics/Packaging
ArtCenter AlumNetwork Europe, Co-Chair

Patricia Bravo
BFA 91 Communications
ArtCenter AlumNetwork Europe, Co-Chair

Luc Limbourg
BFA 91 Communications
ArtCenter AlumNetwork Europe, Co-Chair