History

ECAL celebrates its 200th anniversary (1821–2021)

In 1821, a decree of the Grand Council of the Canton of Vaud formalised the opening of the Ecole cantonale de dessin, housed in Cité-Devant near the Cathedral in Lausanne. Twenty years later, the school integrated the newly built Musée Arlaud, located in the city centre and which also bears the name of the first director of both institutions, Marc-Louis Arlaud. For almost 150 years, the establishment has had many personalities as directors, moved to various locations in the region and had different names, before finally settling on Ecole cantonale d’art de Lausanne in 1986. Since then, the acronym ECAL has become popular as the reputation of the institution has grown, and it is now considered one of the best art and design schools in the world thanks to the countless successes of its teaching staff, students and alumni.

Fonts by MA Type Design students. Graphic design ECAL/Arthur Seguin

 

ECAL celebrates its 200th anniversary (1821-2021), 01.09.2021–30.04.2022, Various locations

Event

To mark this 200th anniversary, we are pleased to invite you to a varied programme of activities and events in Switzerland and internationally, highlighting contemporary issues and themes that lie at the core of ECAL’s various disciplines, thus offering a reflection on the contribution of art and design to society.

 

1808

Application to the Petit Conseil du Canton de Vaud (Conseil d'Etat) by the painter Louis Ducros for the opening of a drawing school

1821

Decree of the Grand Council of the Canton of Vaud on the proposal of the Council of State which makes official the opening of a cantonal school of drawing, housed in the Cité-Devant near the Cathedral (Lausanne)

1822

Appointment of the painter Marc-Louis Arlaud as director

1841

The school moves to the Arlaud Museum, which has just been built on the Place de la Riponne (Lausanne)

1844

Appointment of Jean-Samson Guignard as director

1851

Appointment of the painter François Bocion as director for one semester, replacing Jean-Samson Guignard

1873

Appointment of the artist Oscar Bastian as director

1903

Creation of the School of Applied Art by the artist Nora Gross

1911

Founding of the Lausanne School of Art by the industrialist C. Ortlieb

1914

Appointment of the sculptor Aloïs Otth as director

1919

Official reopening of the Cantonal School of Drawing after a period of transition since 1914 Appointment of the engraver and sculptor Raphaël Lugeon as director

1923

Merger of the Ecole d'art de Lausanne and the Ecole cantonale de dessin, which then becomes the Ecole cantonale de dessin et d'arts décoratifs

1924

Merger of the Cantonal School of Drawing and Decorative Arts with the School of Applied Art, which became the Cantonal School of Drawing and Applied Art

1932

Appointment of the artist Casimir Reymond as interim director

1935

Appointment of the architect Alphonse Laverrière as director

1945

Second appointment of the artist Casimir Reymond as director

1955

Appointment of the curator of the Cantonal Museum of Fine Arts Ernest Manganel as director

Change of name of the institution to the Cantonal School of Fine and Applied Arts
 

1964

The school moves to Avenue de l'Elysée (Lausanne) in a building designed by the architect Frédéric Brugger

1965

Appointment of Jacques Monnier-Raball, a graduate in literature, as director

1986

Change of name of the institution which becomes the Ecole cantonale d'art de Lausanne

1988

Opening of an important annex of the school in Bussigny

1995

Appointment of the artist Pierre Keller as director

2007

The ECAL moves to the premises of the former IRIL factory (Renens) renovated by the architect Bernard Tschumi

2011

Appointment of designer Alexis Georgacopoulos as director

2021

Celebration of 200 years of the institution since the official creation of the Cantonal School of Design