FAQ

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Questions about CAMP
Questions about courses
Money questions

What is CAMP?

CAMP is an artist residency project with a key difference - we run short residential courses taught by true pioneers. It's a place where artists can stay, think, work, learn and produce revolutionary art. CAMP is based in a 19th century hotel in the town of Aulus-les-Bains, close to the French/Spanish border at 750m altitude, surrounded by snowcapped peaks, waterfalls and ancient forests. Bears, eagles and ibex live here.
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What's the accommodation like at CAMP?

All accommodation is in peaceful, private rooms at CAMP. Each room has a bed, a workspace, storage, and stunning mountain views. In it's heyday, our building was a luxurious hotel - the hallmarks of the time are still present, and we've restored the place very carefully to preserve the original features.
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How do I get to CAMP?

The first step is to get to Toulouse.

By air: Toulouse (TLS) is the closest airport, 1.5 hours drive from here.

By rail: highly recommended, the train network in France is fast, comfortable, reliable and relatively cheap. Get your ticket from http://www.voyages-sncf.com and head for Toulouse Matabiau.

By bus: maybe the cheapest option if you're booking last minute, check http://www.ouibus.com

Once you get to Toulouse: we run a minibus from Toulouse Matabiau train station to CAMP. It leaves at 18:00 the day before your course, and will get you back to Toulouse by 11:00 the day after it finishes.

If you prefer to make your way yourself: from Toulouse bus station (next to the train station) get the bus to Saint-Girons. Get off at the last stop, grab a coffee and wait for the next bus to Aulus. For a detailed timetable see here: https://www.autocars-ortet.com/ligne/ligne-regionale-452/

Please plan your journey to allow for local connections - we're in the mountains, and buses are not frequent. If you get to Saint-Girons and get stuck for some reason, maybe you miss the last bus, phone us and we'll help. You're almost there!

By car: from Toulouse, head southwest on the A64 to Junction 20, exit onto the D117. Continue to Saint-Girons, then follow the D3 to Oust, then the D32 to Aulus-les-bains. Aulus is signposted all the way from Saint-Girons. If you're coming from Spain or east France, you should arrive via the N20 - at Tarascon, take the D8, then the D18. Again, signposts are at all junctions.
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How long are the courses?

Each course is five days long, starting early on Wednesday and running through Sunday, so we advise that you plan to arrive on Tuesday, and leave on Monday. Accommodation is provided throughout this time. If you're planning to travel in the CAMP minibus, it will leave Toulouse at 6pm on Tuesday, and arrive back in Toulouse at 11.00am on Monday.
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Do I need any prior experience?

Some courses require an existing level of knowledge, whilst others are open to everyone - check the course description.
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Do I need to bring any equipment?

Depends on the course. We have a huge amount of high end gear at CAMP, all of which you are welcome to use. However, some courses may require you to bring certain items such as instruments, mountain gear, cool pencil case, etc. Check the course description.
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What happens after I complete the course? Is that it?

Absolutely not - each residential course will be followed by an exhibition or performance in our project space, transfer of work to the UK for showcasing at Fuse Art Space, and consideration of work for publication/release on our various in-house labels and imprints. You'll also get access to online learning resources, ongoing support in your artistic projects, and a 5% discount on future onsite workshops.
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When do courses run?

We run courses between March and October - the rest of the time we're pretty snowed in. We'd love to run winter courses - as soon as we can figure the transport situation out, we'll look into it. Courses are five days long, and have fixed dates - check the courses section for more info.
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What's included in the price of a visit?

Included in every visit is: six nights accommodation, five days of classes and activities, all meals (breakfast and lunch at CAMP, dinner at an excellent local restaurant), drinks and snacks, unlimited use of our recording studios, editing suites, rehearsal/performance spaces, art studios, library and other facilities, post-course support in the form of showcases, publishing and release, and access to online learning materials.
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When do I pay?

There is no payment required at the time of booking. You will receive a reservation confirmation email, with a link to pay. You have three days to confirm your place by making a payment. At that stage, you don't have to pay it all in one go - you can split the payment over four months (no credit checking or anything like that, just a simple subscription plan).
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How come CAMP is cheaper than other comparable courses?

We believe in providing great courses at fair prices, and our location allows us to keep costs down - despite being one of the most beautiful and inspiring places in the world, it's also one of the cheapest. Most of all, we're in this for the results - new art, new ways of thinking, revolution - and we think we can achieve that without overcharging.
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Can I get a refund?

For full information on refunds, see our terms.
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What about exchange rates?

Good point. You can select to pay in EUR, GBP or USD by changing the value in the menu at the top of the website. All our costs are in euros, so we get the current exchange rates every day and set the GBP and USD prices to match. So, you might notice the GBP or USD price change slightly from day to day - that's to make sure we get the right euro amount, so that we can cover all our costs. But rest assured that if you're paying in GBP or USD, you'll pay the price displayed at the time of purchase, even if the rate changes drastically afterwards.
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How do the payment plans work?

You can choose to split your payment over 4 months (for on-site courses) or 2 months (for online courses). There's no credit check, interest, or any of that stuff - you just sign up to a course as normal, then we take the first payment by card when you confirm your booking. Subsequent payments are taken automatically from the same card, on the same day every month. So, for example, if you sign up to an on-site course (full price €1389), you would pay nothing today, then €347.25 when you confirm your place, and then €347.25 each month for 3 more months. For an online course, you would pay nothing today, then €149.50 when you confirm your place, and €149.50 the next month. When you combine the payment plans with a grant (see https://www.campfr.com/apply), you could get your on-site place for as little as €173 per month over 4 months. For full details and terms of the payment plans, see our terms: https://www.campfr.com/terms
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