L’École, School of Jewelry Arts just opened a Dubai campus – its first in the Middle East: supported by Van Cleef & Arpels, the Paris-based organisation offers courses in gemmology and art history
- L’École Middle East marks its opening with the ‘Gold and Treasures: 3,000 Years of Chinese Ornaments’ exhibition, which runs until August 10
- All proceeds from the school’s public courses and talks will be given to Dubai Cares, an organisation dedicated to improving access to quality education for children
“The school aims to show visitors the vital importance of jewellery as a form of cultural expression across the ages,” says Lise MacDonald, global president of L’École.
Jewellery, she emphasises, was one of humankind’s first art forms – people have been decorating their bodies with objects throughout history.
“Charting the story of jewellery is a way to understand different cultures and uncover historical facts,” she adds.
The purpose of the schools, says MacDonald, is to foster partnerships and collaborations among experts, museums, scientists, geologists and art historians from each region to understand the past and present history of the local jewellery culture.
“That knowledge is then shared on the campuses through conferences, publications or even exhibitions,” she adds.
Marking the grand opening of L’École Middle East, School of Jewelry Arts, is the “Gold and Treasures: 3,000 Years of Chinese Ornaments” exhibition, which runs until August 10.
On display are 100 gold jewellery and accessories pieces from China that span over three millennia of the country’s craftsmanship in the field. The alluring items reflect the history and society in China over the last few centuries and stem from the renowned Mengdiexuan Collection, one of Hong Kong’s premier private art collections.
The Dubai school was established largely due to the success of international workshops L’École conducted in the region in 2017 and 2019.