The École supérieure d’art, or Art School, of Aix-en-Provence is a public higher education establishment specialized in art, which is administered by the Town Council of Aix-en-Provence.
The School’s programme is accredited by the Ministry of Culture and Communication. Students at the School work towards two kinds of national art diplomas, corresponding to two different levels:
The DNAP (diplôme national d’arts plastiques), the National Diploma of Visual Arts, corresponding to 3 years of post-Baccalaureate study.
The DNSEP (diplôme national supérieure d’expression plastique), the Advanced National Diploma of Visual Arts, corresponding to 5 years of post-Baccalaureate study.
The School runs a research, or third cycle, programme in audio art called Locus Sonus, in collaboration with the Art School of Nice (Villa Arson). Students participate in the work of a research laboratory and successful completion of the two-year programme leads to a postgraduate certificate in audio research.
The School is the inter-regional centre for the “validation des acquis de l’expérience”, and as such organizes the assessment of candidates whose professional experience may be considered equivalent to certain modules of the DNAP and DNSEP.
The School is also an active member of the Âge d’Or network of southern French art schools.
The École supérieure d’art of Aix-en-Provence trains high level professional artists and creators, bringing them to the heart of the contemporary artistic world and the creative professions. It thereby fulfils the overall mandate of higher education in art schools under the supervision of the Ministry of Culture.
The school also plays an important role in the cultural life of Aix-en-Provence and the surrounding region by creating greater awareness of contemporary artistic creation. While fulfilling its task of higher education, common to all equivalent institutions, our school is characterized by an educational project strongly axed towards digital creation through an interdisciplinary and intercultural approach.
The issues raised by art and cognition provide the driving force behind the school’s project as they form the critical meeting point between thought and creation which goes side by side with research. This applies particularly to digital and telematic art and to the changes they are bringing about.
A consciousness of the importance of Man underlies all our activities: art and culture enable us to study the reciprocal paths between Western representational systems and those of other cultures, or between social and individual identities.
Our interdisciplinary approach is a source of strength which also gives the school its unique form. This can be seen in the close relationship formed between art, science and technology, as in the links the school has established with the performing arts or with social issues. The prevailing spirit in the school is one of shared curiosity, as when, for example, it works in co-operation with other schools to develop networked projects. Encounters take place as much through personal as collective work.
In all the subjects taught here, the reductive distinction between "traditional" and "new" has been abolished. At the school these notions are subjected to a permanent questioning and made to interact.
Jean-Paul Ponthot, Director
The École supérieure d’art of Aix-en-Provence is the centre for the teaching of art of an influential town. By highlighting the importance of contemporary art in this town of history and heritage, the school also plays a vital role in Aix’s cultural programme. The school has extended its mission of higher education by developing cultural activities in harmony with its educative approach and with a range of outside partners. It also fulfils a public service mission by organizing art workshops, which are open to all, and has thus become a means for bringing about awareness and understanding of artistic creation.