School Introduction: Escola Massana

Escola Massana, Art and Design Center in Barcelona, Jewelry Making Course, Asian Lacquer and Enamels (Laca i Esmalts)

The art school located in the heart of Barcelona, where Ms. Mireia Estopà teaches, moved from its old building to a new one a few years ago. This school offers a comprehensive educational system: undergraduate arts programs, master's degrees, vocational training, part-time arts education, evening classes, and special education for people with disabilities. The school is a Catalan government-run and private institution.

Among art schools in Europe, only this school and the Paris School of Applied Arts (ENSAAMA, Paris) offer a department dedicated to Asian lacquer art. At this school, lacquer art is integrated into the jewelry making department and can be studied alongside enamel techniques. The Massana School, before moving to the new building, had a stronger emphasis on crafts, with an independent Asian lacquer art department. Ramon Sarsanedas, influenced by Sugawara Seizo (菅原精造) of Paris, was the first professor of lacquer art. The old Furo in the photograph is an antique from that time.

In recent years, Mr. Murose Kazumi from Japan, a Living National Treasure in Maki-e, has visited the school several times, fostering a close relationship.