Meet Althea Mamaril

I am a montreal based visual artist from Winnipeg, Manitoba. As a mature student who doesn't have a high school diploma, enrolling in university was a daunting and intimidating venture because academia wasn’t ever something that I was familiar or interested in. Being at Concordia gave me confidence in exploring different perspectives of how to play with my art, the resources and contacts I didn’t know that I needed to grow as as artist. This exchange was a seminal experience that has changed my life, view and understanding of the world and how I wish to exist in it.

Japan: CSEP F24 W25 Althea Mamaril

Program: Ceramics & Fine Arts

Level: Undergraduate

Host Country: Japan

Host Institution: Kansai Gaidai

Exchange Semester: Fall 2024 and winter 2025

Languages Spoken: English, and Japanese

My experience abroad

Althea Mamaril: Japan F24 W25

Going on exchange challenged me because…

It allowed me to connect with people from another culture teaching me that we have so much more in common than not.

I felt like I made the best decision to go on exchange when…

I had my first art show outside of the university.

My favourite part of going on exchange was..

Experiencing life as a resident of the country, not as a tourist. Japan has always been a fetishized mystery. A place of wonder and amazement. Through media , art and culture , Japan has always inspired me from a distance…this gave me a chance to experience the culture first hand.

The biggest cultural shock was…

Coming home.

Want to learn more about what an exchange in Japan would be like?

Contact Althea