The studios
The Department of Artistic Practice includes twenty-nine studies under the responsibility of artist-teachers. Studios are a space for artistic practice, creation and experimentation. They are also a space for debate, exchange and criticism. They are transformed into exhibition spaces at certain times of the year, especially during degree or assessment periods. Studios are a dedicated space where students at all stages, from 1st year to 5th, work alongside each other, using multidisciplinary creative techniques under the guidance of a renowned artist. Combining individualised input and collective interaction, studio teaching aims to foster the artistic engagement of each student, gradually helping them to build their own personal artistic language.
Students can choose their studio artist within the departments of Artistic Practice, Printmaking/Bookmaking or Materials/Space.
Foundation skills teaching
The foundation skills teaching offers students extensive training in working with traditional or modern materials, with broad scope for the exploration of digital tools. Led by artists or art technicians, the foundation skills studios allow students to broaden the field of their personal work as of the 2nd year and to consider their development through the prism of mastery of different mediums, removing material barriers to their creation.
They constitute complementary technical media for the artistic practice work carried out in the studio.
1st year students are given an introduction to the various techniques taught at the school.
As of the 2nd year of study, students choose courses in techniques according to their artistic practice. Technical skills course units are taught in the Printmaking/Bookmaking Department, the Materials/Space Department and in the Foundation Skills Department.
Drawing
Drawing is considered a cross-disciplinary technique that is complementary to all studio practice. A tool for reporting on what is seen, an analytical tool, an instrument of reflection or a sketch or draft, drawing has a fundamental place in the conception of works, but can also be considered as a work in itself. Drawing is compulsory in the 1st and 2nd years.
History of Art
The Beaux-Arts de Paris History of Art classes are designed to support 1st to 3rd year students, thanks to course cycles which help students acquire a certain number of fundamentals to navigate confidently through the history of art. The aim is not to provide classes organised in an academic way by period or trend, but rather give students the means to interpret art of all eras and all origins. The 4th year research seminars and 5th year graduate seminars provide the opportunity to go into more depth in specific areas.
In addition, a transversal theoretical teaching cycle is dedicated to the interaction between contemporary creation and the history of art, integrating related disciplines that have contributed to it (literature, science, philosophy, etc.) . It is designed for all students, all years of study combined.
1st cycle
The 1st cycle of three years of study aims to help students master the fundamental theoretical and technical tools relating to artistic creation and to help them identify a personal project. It leads to the undergraduate degree.
2nd cycle
The two-year 2nd cycle postgraduate programme is devoted to the preparation of the Diplôme national supérieur d’arts plastiques (DNSAP), equivalent to a master's degree, awarded at the end of the fifth year of study. A professional internship or study trip abroad is a fundamental part of the course. During these two years, students take their theoretical training further, in particular in the context of research leading to a dissertation and viva.
