st lucas school ofarts antwerp

The Sint Lucas University College of Art and Design is situated in Anwerp, Belgium. This year is the schools’ 75th birthday, a lot has changed since it was founded.

thinking – doing research – intuition content – execution imagination – interpretation

Our objective is to help students develop their own design methods whilst depending on sources of inspiration from outside and within themselves. In their work the aim is to connect: form, meaning, material and technique.

program

Of course we don't expect all that at the start of the training. In the first bachelor year, we always begin with a series of short assignments, in which we mainly emphasize experimentation and imagination.

glans / shine

After this period of experimentation, we take a project-based approach. We work on a single theme or subject for four months. We chose this approach because we live in a rapidly changing world and because students need to be able to handle the issues of daily life. That is why the department confronts the students with all possible aspects of the entire field in a single assignment. Here's an example of such a project: “Glans / Shine”. Others were ‘Twist’ or ‘Hooks and eyes’.

The students create a process-folio, in which they can, apart from their drawings, collect images from different sources: from the internet, books or exhibitions…. In other words, they will collect all that inspires them. Apart from these sources of inspiration, documentation of their own work and that of other artists, comments of fellow students and teachers are also inscribed. That way, this process-folio is an artistic way of communicating; it’s a workbook in which everyone can follow the ideas, individual development and design process of each student.

Not only do students learn a certain terminology, but also, when explaining their own work process, they can deliver well-formulated analytical statements. The more nuanced the students can express themselves, the better they will understand themselves, their process and their attitude.

Besides ‘the Project’, our programme leaves room for workshops given by foreign guest teachers. It is a unique chance for our students to get to know other work methods. Here with Gemma Draper.

Master classes are also given during the master's year (just like in the bachelor year). They are shorter but more intense. Often renowned artists and researchers conduct such master classes. During the classes a link is made between theory and physical work – here in the person of Benjamin Lignel, an expert on this subject.

At the graduation show, each master has the opportunity to express their fascinations and inspirations in the form of their work.

Our masters unite their work, research and process into a coherent presentation.

It is clear that among the work by the master graduates’ of SLA, a lot does not in fact consist of jewels.

Photos for Triple Parade publication by Thomas Aangeenbrug

This is also the case in the selection of Belgian designers presented at Triple Parade. They can't be worn, or they only refer in form and appearance to the world of jewellery. And yet they express essential things about this rich field; this happens very concretely through the dimensions, the wish for finishing and detail, the way in which techniques and materials are used. All these examples show us that the world of jewellery is a rich and layered source of inspiration, which also deserves a legitimate place in a broad and contemporary arts field.