Preserving the history and heritage of design schools
Archives of design in French-speaking Switzerland
Moulding workshops at the Ecole des arts industriels, Geneva, Boulevard James-Fazy, around 1914. As early as the 19th century, young women were admitted to modelling and ceramics classes, and later to ornamental classes.
© Auguste Dubois
How can we preserve, archive, and promote the past and future history of design schools in French-speaking Switzerland?
This is a crucial question, particularly for renowned schools such as ÉCAL/University of Art and Design Lausanne and HEAD – Genève, Geneva University of Art and Design, which play a major role both locally and internationally. Heirs to a rich industrial past, these schools are at the heart of the design scene in French-speaking Switzerland, each with a strong, distinctive identity that informs the aesthetic and conceptual proposals of its students.
It therefore seems essential to examine how to archive the identity of these schools and the projects of the students who attend them. It remains to be seen whether certain institutions have already adopted such practices or whether they need to be developed in order to preserve this heritage.
Round-table discussions will bring together the directors and teachers of these higher education institutions, as well as those from vocational schools such as EDHEA (the Valais School of Art) and CEPV (Vevey Professional Teaching Centre), to shed light on the current state of design and applied arts teaching and its future prospects. Finally, a lecture on the industrial past of these schools will provide a better understanding of the links between their past history, their current situation, and future prospects.
This article is part of a series of six themes featured in the Archives du Design Romand exhibition currently on view at mudac. The exhibition is accompanied by a rich and varied program, including lectures, round tables and workshops.