A step into the void. The opportunity of a twelve-week program at the ArtCenter Berlin studio enabled the Spring 2023 Study Away Program students to immerse themselves in the rich life and culture of the German capital. The Presence of Absence program involved research into the philosophical and aesthetic importance of understanding space, interval, and the interconnectedness of figure and ground in all creative practices. After an initial research period studying concepts of absence and presence through lectures, field trips, and site visits in Berlin—a city whose past and present are particularly well suited to the subject—students were encouraged to wander the city as contemporary flâneurs, curious observers taking pictures of scenes, moments, and events which connected to the theme of the presence of absence.