The Institute for Art and Olfaction

What The Institute for Art and Olfaction does

The Institute for Art and Olfaction (IAO) is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization founded in 2012 by Saskia Wilson-Brown and headquartered at 932 Chung King Road in Los Angeles' Chinatown neighborhood. Its mission is access, education and experimentation with scent, and it operates a hybrid in-person/online portfolio of perfumery education programs including weekly Open Sessions, Perfume 101/202/303, accord-building classes, an 11-week Materials Evaluation Course, and five-day Perfume Intensives taught by named faculty such as Ashley Eden Kessler, Minetta Rogers and Spyros Drosopoulos. The organization also runs the Art and Olfaction Awards (established 2014), the Experimental Scent Summit (co-produced with Smell Lab Berlin since 2017), biennial Scent Week in Los Angeles, the IAO Accelerator for emerging perfumers, and a 154 sq ft IAO Gallery hosting scent-art exhibitions.

IAO's underlying technical infrastructure is intentionally lightweight: a Google Sheets–hosted Materials Database and IAO Collections catalog (1,630+ perfumes, 720+ books, 100+ raw reference aromatics, 1,500+ aromatic materials), Zoom for live online classes, Eventbrite for ticketing and registration, Vimeo and YouTube for archived class video, and public Google Maps of Perfumers-for-Hire and Perfume Educators. There is no proprietary software platform; the "tech stack" is a curation and delivery layer rather than a product.

The business model combines unit-priced fee-for-service education ($55 open sessions, $82.50–$135 per accord/introductory class, custom-quoted multi-day intensives and private/group sessions), transaction fees on Awards submissions, custom rates for institutional and corporate workshops, and a recurring donation/grant stream that funds the non-profit mission. Distribution is direct-to-consumer through Eventbrite plus direct email inquiry for institutional clients, with marketing driven by the IAO website, Instagram, Facebook, a Mailchimp newsletter, and recurring museum partnerships with the Getty, Hammer, Fowler, Pulitzer Foundation and Huntington Library.

Name

The Institute for Art and Olfaction

Legal name

The Institute for Art and Olfaction

Website

https://artandolfaction.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2012

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

The Institute for Art and Olfaction is a 501(c)(3) non-profit founded in 2012 in Los Angeles that provides accessible perfumery education through classes, workshops, and intensives, and operates the Art and Olfaction Awards and Experimental Scent Summit for the independent scent community.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Perfumery Education

NAICS

Cosmetology and Barber Schools (611511), Fine Arts Schools (61161)

akta.pro primary industry

Open Educational Resources (OER) & Open Access Academic Publishing (MPAJABAG)

Keywords

• Perfume education programs
• Scent experimentation workshops
• Artisan perfumery training
• Olfactory arts classes
• Independent perfumery awards

Headquarters

HQ city

Los Angeles

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices2 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Infrastructure, Marketing or Sales, Others

Revenue model

1. Educational Classes and Workshops: Revenue from in-person and online perfumery education including open sessions ($55), accord classes, Perfume 101/202/303 courses, and various workshops ranging from $60-$135 per session.
2. Perfumery Intensives: Five-day intensive programs offered both in-person (at various international locations including Loire Valley, Athens, Los Angeles, Syros) and online, with separate pricing for materials and instruction.
3. Private and Group Sessions: Private and semi-private sessions for groups of 2-20 people, with custom pricing based on session type and group size.
4. Donations and Grants: As a non-profit organization, IAO relies on community donations and charitable support to sustain operations and programs.
5. Art and Olfaction Awards Submissions: Revenue from submission fees for the annual Art and Olfaction Awards competition in independent and artisan perfumery.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels5 records

Marketing channels9 records

Core offering

The Institute for Art and Olfaction is a non-profit organization that delivers hands-on perfume education through in-person classes at its Los Angeles laboratory and online via Zoom. Its offerings include weekly Open Sessions, Perfume 101, accord-building classes, an 11-Week Materials Evaluation Course, five-day Perfumery Intensives, and Private/Group Sessions. Beyond direct instruction, the IAO operates the Art and Olfaction Awards, the Experimental Scent Summit, Scent Week, the IAO Gallery, and the IAO Collections reference library.

Product overview

The Institute for Art and Olfaction is a non-profit organization offering perfume education and experimentation. The core offering is a portfolio of educational programs including hands-on Open Sessions (weekly lab sessions since 2013), Perfume 101 theory courses, Accord Building Classes, 11-Week Materials Evaluation Courses, and multi-day Perfume Intensives taught by industry professionals. Beyond direct education, the IAO operates the Art and Olfaction Awards (annual awards for independent/artisan perfumery since 2014), the Experimental Scent Summit (annual gathering since 2017), Scent Week (biennial LA celebration), and the IAO Gallery for scent-related art exhibitions. Additional offerings include Private/Group Sessions, Scent and Society cultural lectures, and the IAO Collections reference library containing 1,630+ perfumes and 720+ books. Programs are delivered both in-person at their Los Angeles Chinatown laboratory and online via Zoom, with ticketing managed through Eventbrite.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Open Sessions Weekly public hands-on perfume blending sessions held at the IAO laboratory in Los Angeles, providing access to natural and synthetic aromatic molecules, perfumer's alcohol, lab equipment, and instructor guidance for first-timers and advanced perfumers.
• Perfume 101 Theory-focused introduction to perfumery covering fragrance families, top/middle/base notes, perfume lab basics, and aromatic materials. Available in-person and online, taught by Minetta Rogers.
• Accord Building Classes Bi-monthly technical study of important perfume accords with working formulas, taught by Ashley Eden Kessler. Covers molecular components, aromatic facets, and deconstruction of perfume accord structures.
• 11-Week Materials Evaluation Course Comprehensive materials course led by Ashley Eden Kessler exploring crucial materials in the perfumer's organ, structured as three eleven-week modules covering natural and synthetic aromatics systematically.
• Perfumery Intensives Five-day intensive courses covering lab work, aromatic materials, formulation, and perfume types. Taught by Spyros Drosopoulos in both in-person (at international locations including Loire Valley, Athens, Los Angeles, Syros) and online formats.
• Private and Group Sessions Private consultations and semi-private group sessions (2-12 people at IAO, up to 20 offsite) for museums, sales teams, university classes, social clubs, corporations, and non-profits seeking customized perfumery education.
• Art and Olfaction Awards Annual awards mechanism celebrating excellence in independent and artisan perfumery and experimental practices with scent, including Independent, Artisan, Newcomer, Sadakichi Award (Experimental), Contribution to Scent Culture, and Septimus Piesse Visionary Award categories.
• Experimental Scent Summit Annual gathering of experimental practitioners with scent for sharing research and ideas in an informal setting. Co-produced with Smell Lab Berlin and held annually in varying locations since 2017.
• Scent Week Biennial city-wide celebration of scent in Los Angeles featuring talks, workshops, exhibitions, projects, and parties celebrating perfumery as an art form and spotlighting global perfumery practices.
• IAO Collections Reference libraries collecting books, perfumes, aromatic objects, and ephemera related to scent, housing 1,630+ perfumes, 720+ books, 100+ raw reference aromatics, and 1,500+ aromatic materials, organized using the Library of Congress Classification system.
• IAO Gallery Gallery space hosting visual art, performative, and installation-based exhibitions from artists working at the intersection of scent and art, located in Chinatown, Los Angeles.
• Scent and Society Cultural lecture series exploring the multiplicity of perfume history and unlearning Eurocentric narratives by presenting research from around the world. Curated by Dana El Masri (2018) and Nuri McBride (2020-2023).

Quantifiable outcome

• Operating since 2012, with consistent program expansion across education, awards, and exhibitions
• +1 more outcomes

Segments5 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration8 records

Feature4 records

Partnerships

15 partnerships are on record, tiered major and minor.

• Klara RavatmajorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2017Artist and collaborator who co-curates the Experimental Scent Summit with IAO. Ongoing partnership since 2017 producing annual experimental scent gatherings.
• The Getty CentermajorStrategic or Co-development PartnerCollaborative programming including College Night events and scent-related workshops exploring ancient civilizations. IAO has worked with Getty on educational programming integrating scent into museum experiences.
• The Hammer MuseummajorStrategic or Co-development PartnerCollaborated on A Trip to Japan project, bringing scent programming to museum audiences.
• The Fowler MuseumminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerEducational partnerships for cultural programming involving scent and aromatic traditions.
• Pulitzer Foundation for the ArtsminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerPresented 24 Hours, 15 Scents project in collaboration with Pulitzer Foundation.
• The Huntington LibraryminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerCreated scents evoking historic Pasadena for permanent exhibition at Huntington Library Visitor's Center.
• Los Angeles Unified School DistrictminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerHelped high school students incorporate scent into class projects, such as those around King Lear.
• Watts GalleryminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerEducational programming collaboration involving scent and art.
• Wallace CollectionminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerInternational partnership for cultural programming.
• Smell Lab (Berlin)majorStrategic or Co-development PartnerOngoing collaboration producing the annual Experimental Scent Summit since 2017. Co-curated annual gathering of experimental practitioners with scent, changing location each year (Berlin, London, Amsterdam, online, Lisbon, LA, Athens).
• Luckyscent / Scent BarminorGTM or Marketing PartnerSupported first Art and Olfaction Awards ceremony in 2014 at Goethe Institut Los Angeles.
• Darin KleinminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerLong-term collaborator who co-curated the Scent Fair LA biennial event with IAO.
• Esxence (Milan)minorChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorArt and Olfaction Awards finalists announced at Esxence in Milan, providing visibility for award participants.
• Craft Contemporary (Los Angeles)minorStrategic or Co-development PartnerIAO Olfactory Storylab programming presented at Craft Contemporary museum.
• ICA LA (Los Angeles)minorStrategic or Co-development PartnerI Smell LA collaboration with Institute of Contemporary Arts Los Angeles.

Scale indicators4 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• Grasse Institute of Perfumery: Perfumery school located in Grasse, France — the historic capital of French perfumery. Offers professional perfumery training programs and is the most direct international peer to the IAO's educational mission, competing for serious perfumery students globally.
• ISIPCA: Institut Supérieur International du Parfum, de la Cosmétique et de l'Aromatique alimentaire, founded by Jean-Jacques Guerlain in Versailles, France. Offers degree programs in perfumery, cosmetics, and food aroma — a peer institution targeting the same advanced perfumery student segment.
• Givaudan Perfumery School: Perfumery training program operated by Givaudan, the world's largest fragrance house. Provides intensive perfumery education to industry professionals and aspiring perfumers — operates at much larger scale but shares the IAO's educational mission.
• Cinquième Sens: Paris-based perfumery training school founded by Patricia de Nicolaï. Offers professional perfumery courses in French and English, directly competing with IAO for students seeking hands-on perfumery education from credentialed practitioners.

Broad incumbents

• Symrise: Major global fragrance and flavor house with educational initiatives around perfumery. Competes for industry talent and indirectly for students interested in commercial perfumery careers, contrasting with IAO's independent/artisan focus.
• International Flavors & Fragrances (IFF): Global leader in flavors and fragrances with perfumery training programs. As a major industry incumbent, IFF provides perfumery education as part of a broader commercial portfolio, contrasting with IAO's non-profit, independent-focused mission.
• Mane: French family-owned fragrance and flavor company with perfumery training programs. Operates at scale across the industry, providing commercial perfumery education that overlaps with but is broader than IAO's independent perfumery focus.
• Firmenich Perfumery School: Perfumery training operated by Firmenich, one of the largest fragrance and flavor companies. While primarily a commercial manufacturer, Firmenich runs perfumery education as part of its broader industry position — a broad incumbent with overlapping educational capabilities.

Others

• Esxence: Milan-based annual exhibition and trade show for artistic perfumery. Already a channel partner of IAO (hosts Awards finalist announcements). As the leading industry trade event for independent perfumery, Esxence is an ecosystem participant that overlaps with IAO's awards and community-building mission.
• Luckyscent / Scent Bar: Los Angeles-based specialty perfume retailer and online resource. Supported the first Art and Olfaction Awards ceremony in 2014. Operates as a distribution and discovery channel for independent perfumers, complementing IAO's educational mission within the indie perfumery ecosystem.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• YouTubeyoutube.com/channel/UC6f5PDJZPCAR37b0laNJ2Og
• Facebookfacebook.com/artandolfaction
• Instagraminstagram.com/artandolfaction
• Xx.com/artandolfaction
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/the-institute-for-art-and-olfaction

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles5 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about The Institute for Art and Olfaction