Courses, Talks, Exhibitions, and Workshops at the new K11 MUSEA venue will serve the growing demand for jewelry arts education in the Asia Pacific

L’ÉCOLE, School of Jewelry Arts, announces the opening of its first overseas campus at K11 MUSEA, Victoria Dockside in Hong Kong, in fall 2019. After three successful traveling editions as well as regular and frequent engagement with its student community in Hong Kong over the past five years, L’ÉCOLE will introduce a new permanent school to continuously serve the growing demand for jewelry arts education across the Asia Pacific region. Already a pioneer in the field when it was founded in Place Vendôme in Paris seven years ago, L’ÉCOLE Asia Pacific will open in K11 MUSEA, a unique cultural destination situated in the heart of Hong Kong’s art and design district Victoria Dockside, making it the first outpost outside of Paris.

L’ÉCOLE, School of Jewelry Arts, with the support of High Jewelry Maison Van Cleef & Arpels, is the only educational and cultural institution of its kind worldwide that provides accessible, hands-on engagement for audiences of all ages and backgrounds.

“L’ÉCOLE’s offerings break down barriers to the vast and enchanting world of jewelry for everyone. Whether you are a collector or wear only your wedding band; whether you are an engineer, painter, or school teacher; you will learn directly from our leading experts – the only prerequisite is curiosity. We look forward to extending our educational and cultural programming to Asia and expanding our dialogue with museums and academic institutions in the region,” says Ms. Marie Vallanet-Delhom, President of L’ÉCOLE, School of Jewelry Arts.

L’ÉCOLE’s goal since its establishment is to share its knowledge with the world. To this end, the School has organized traveling editions since 2013, making its way through cities including Tokyo, Hong Kong, New York, and Dubai, and inviting anyone who is curious and passionate to take a journey to discover the savoir-faire and the universe of gemstones and expand one’s jewelry horizons.

“With each of the three Hong Kong editions more successful than the last and the enthusiastic response we received from the community during our quarterly Evening Conversations, we recognize there is a strong learning appetite towards jewelry arts here. We are excited to announce our permanent return to Hong Kong at K11 MUSEA, the city’s new art and culture-led retail landmark. L’ÉCOLE, School of Jewelry Arts, and K11 MUSEA share the values of transmission and the commitment to promoting the public education of art, and it, therefore, felt natural and relevant to have this be our home in Asia. This expansion is perfectly aligned with Hong Kong’s development as a leading arts and culture hub in Asia too. With our ideal location in the city, we look forward to welcoming many more students from all over the Asia Pacific,” says Ms. Élise Gonnet-Pon, Managing Director of L’ÉCOLE Asia Pacific, School of Jewelry Arts.

Overlooking the iconic Victoria Harbour, the new permanent location was designed by Sou Fujimoto, a Japanese architect and a friend of L’ÉCOLE. He imagined a modern identity for L’ÉCOLE’s second venue, with organic shapes that mingle with the natural light of the site. L’ÉCOLE Asia Pacific will occupy two levels, feature intimate classrooms, workshops and exhibition spaces, as well as a specialized library housing over 600 books on jewelry arts as a start.

L’ÉCOLE Asia Pacific will be open to the public and launch with 17-course topics under the three main themes of Savoir-Faire (Craftsmanship), Art History of Jewelry and The Universe of Gemstones. Each course, two to four hours in duration, can be taken à la carte in any order and is limited to 12 students to encourage direct interaction between participants and teachers.

Leading scholars in the fields of craftsmanship, science, art, and history will guide every class. Combining experts traveling from Paris and around Asia, the expert faculty includes passionate jewelers, designers, mockup artists, stone-setters, art and jewelry historians, gemologists and lacquer artists.

Along with the courses, L’ÉCOLE Asia Pacific will also offer a full-year program that includes Workshops for Young People, Evening Conversations and, for the first time in Hong Kong, curated exhibitions showcasing jewelry arts from the most magnificent private collections, as well as remarkable creations by contemporary artists.

“There is a growing demand for arts and cultural experiences fueled by meaningful learning. We are proud to support L’ÉCOLE’s broad educational mission, providing object-based learning in the jewelry arts to people around the world. In less than a decade, L’ÉCOLE has already welcomed over 30,000 alumni from 50 different nationalities worldwide through its courses and talks and 32,000 visitors to its exceptional exhibitions. We are looking forward to giving more people access to L’ÉCOLE’s expertise and unique offerings through our support of the second permanent campus in Hong Kong,” says Nicolas Bos, President & CEO of Van Cleef & Arpels.

To find out more or register for Courses, Workshops for Young People, Evening Conversations and Exhibitions at L’ÉCOLE Asia Pacific, please visit https://hk.lecolevancleefarpels.com or email hk.lecole@vancleefarpels.com