IESA arts&culture

Introduction

L'IESA arts&culture is a private institution of higher education in Paris, founded in the 1980s, specialised not in artistic practice but in the professions surrounding the artwork: the art market, mediation, cultural project management and heritage.

It is one of the few French schools to have structured a comprehensive offering around the trade and expertise of art objects, alongside the more classic tracks in cultural administration.

Disciplines and strengths

The programmes, organised into bachelor-type cycles followed by mastère cycles, notably cover:

• the art market: galleries, auction houses, expertise, knowledge of objects and periods, applicable law and taxation;
• cultural mediation and project engineering: museums, festivals, local authorities, audiences;
• cultural communication and production, with courses related to digital tools and dissemination.

The teaching relies largely on practising professionals (auctioneers, gallery owners, experts, heads of institutions), on internships and, depending on the track, on work-study programmes. The Paris location facilitates access to sale rooms, museums and galleries, often called upon in coursework.

Good to know

IESA is a fee-paying private school: it is recommended to check directly the status of recognitions and registrations in the répertoire national des certifications for the intended programme, as well as the admission procedures (application file and interview) and the outcomes specific to each track.