ARTS²

What ARTS² does

ARTS² (École Supérieure des Arts) is a public higher-education institution of the Fédération Wallonie-Bruxelles, the French-speaking Community of Belgium, located in Mons. It was created in 2012 through the institutional fusion of the Conservatoire royal de Mons (Music and Theatre) and the École supérieure des arts plastiques et visuels (ESAPV), inheriting the long artistic traditions of both predecessor institutions. The institution operates from a main campus at Rue de Nimy 7 in the historic center of Mons, with secondary locations on Rue des Sœurs Noires and the ARSONIC performance venue on Rue de Nimy 138. ARTS² delivers structured bachelor and master-level programs across five domains: Visual Arts (with nine options including architecture d'intérieur, arts numériques, communication visuelle, design urbain, dessin, gravure, images dans le milieu, peinture, and sculpture), Dance, Music (Royal Conservatory — instrumental, vocal, composition, electroacoustic/acousmatic), Theatre (dramatic art and a Master in Marionnette / puppetry), and a cross-disciplinary Masters en Enseignement teaching qualification.

The faculty comprises internationally distinguished performing artists and pedagogues, including principal players from the London Symphony Orchestra, Belgian National Orchestra, and Opera Ballet Vlaanderen, plus laureate prizewinners from competitions in Geneva, Vichy, Stuttgart, and Munich. Programs are assessed through public evaluations, concerts, exhibitions, and theatre exercises, and the institution participates in international exchange via Erasmus.

Its business model is that of a publicly funded educational institution: operating revenue derives from Fédération Wallonie-Bruxelles government subsidies and tuition fees paid by enrolled students, with no disclosed commercial lines, no venture funding, no subsidiaries, and no M&A activity. Go-to-market is regional (Wallonia / Fédération Wallonie-Bruxelles), with student recruitment conducted via the official website, electronic newsletter, Facebook events, and annual open-house events. Partnerships include the Pôle Hainuyer higher-education cluster, UCLouvain in Hainaut (facility sharing), the Mons 2015 European Capital of Culture program, and the Digital Valley regional initiative, with quality oversight provided by AEQES. There is no proprietary technology platform, no mobile or web application product, no API, and no patent or trademark portfolio; the institution's "product" is the curriculum and credentialed degrees it confers.

Name

ARTS²

Legal name

École supérieure des Arts de la Fédération Wallonie-Bruxelles

Website

https://artsaucarre.be

Company type

Private

Founded year

2012

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

ARTS² is the publicly funded École supérieure des Arts of the Fédération Wallonie-Bruxelles in Mons, Belgium, delivering bachelor and master-level programs across Visual Arts, Dance, Music, Theatre, and Arts Teaching to students in the Wallonia region.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Arts Higher Education

NAICS

Fine Arts Schools (611610)

SIC

Services-Educational Services (8200)

akta.pro primary industry

Fine Arts Colleges (Painting, Sculpture, Printmaking) (EDAHAJAA)

akta.pro secondary industries

Performing Arts Colleges (Theatre, Dance, Musical Theatre) (EDAHAJAD), Art & Design Teacher Education Colleges (Art Education, Music Education) (EDAHAJAJ)

Keywords

• Arts higher education
• Conservatory music programs
• Visual arts education
• Dance theatre training
• Arts teaching masters

Headquarters

HQ city

Mons, Walloon Region

HQ country

Belgium

HQ region

Europe

Offices3 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Infrastructure, Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales

Revenue model

1. Public Higher Education Funding: ARTS² is a public institution of the Fédération Wallonie-Bruxelles, funded through government educational subsidies and student tuition fees.

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels4 records

Core offering

ARTS² is a public higher-education arts school in Mons, Belgium, delivering accredited Bachelor and Master programs across four domains: Visual Arts (interior architecture, digital arts, visual communication, urban design, drawing, engraving, image in the milieu, painting, sculpture), Dance, Music (Royal Conservatory — instrumental, vocal, composition, applied music, acousmatic composition), and Theatre (dramatic art, puppetry), supplemented by Master's in Teaching degrees. Programs are delivered through on-campus instruction, public evaluations, concerts, exhibitions, and theatre exercises, with research via FRArt and international exchange via Erasmus.

Product overview

ARTS² is an École supérieure des Arts (Higher School of Arts) resulting from the 2015 merger of the Conservatoire royal (Music and Theatre) and the École supérieure des arts plastiques et visuels (ESAPV). Located in Mons, Belgium—European Capital of Culture 2015—the institution offers a unified portfolio of five educational program domains: Arts Visuels (Visual Arts with 9 specializations including architecture, digital arts, design, drawing, painting, and sculpture), Danse (Dance), Musique (Music, the Royal Conservatory with instrumental, vocal, composition, and electroacoustic sections), Théâtre (Theatre with drama and puppetry), and Masters en Enseignement (Teaching Masters). Programs span Bachelor and Master levels, with public evaluations, concerts, exhibitions, and theatre exercises serving as performance-based assessment formats. The institution is part of the Fédération Wallonie-Bruxelles and the Pôle Hainuyer higher education cluster.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Arts Visuels (Visual Arts) Program Higher-education program domain in Visual Arts covering nine options: Architecture d'intérieur, Arts numériques, Communication visuelle, Design Urbain, Dessin, Gravure, Images dans le milieu, Peinture, and Sculpture. Includes admission requirements, evaluations, schedules, and pedagogical teams for each option. Aimed at Bachelor and Master students pursuing studies in visual arts and design.
• Danse (Dance) Program Higher-education program domain in Dance performance and education, with open courses and open classes for prospective students and the wider dance community. Includes dedicated event pages and teacher listings. Aimed at students pursuing dance education and working dancers seeking continuing education.
• Musique – Conservatoire royal (Music – Royal Conservatory) Program Higher-education program domain at the Royal Conservatory of Mons covering Formation Instrumentale (keyboard, strings, percussion, winds), Formation vocale (chant), Écritures et théorie musicale, Composition, Musiques appliquées, and Composition acousmatique. Features orchestral sessions, ensemble singing, and evaluations. Aimed at Bachelor and Master students seeking conservatory-grade music education.
• Théâtre – Conservatoire royal (Theatre – Royal Conservatory) Program Higher-education program domain offering Art dramatique (dramatic art) and Master Marionnette (puppetry). Includes pedagogical projects, course programs, and evaluations. Aimed at students pursuing studies in dramatic art, puppetry, and theatre performance.
• Masters en Enseignement (Masters in Teaching) Teaching master's programs (Section 5) offered across ARTS²'s artistic domains, enabling graduates to qualify as educators in arts education. Aimed at graduate students and practicing artists seeking formal teaching qualifications.

Segments5 records

Ideal customer profiles5 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

Five partnerships are on record, tiered core, flagship and minor.

• Pôle HainuyercoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerARTS² is a member of the Pôle Hainuyer, a higher education cluster in the Hainaut region of French-speaking Belgium that groups together the region's post-secondary educational offerings and provides valuable information services to students.
• Mons 2015 European Capital of CultureflagshipStrategic or Co-development PartnerARTS² was an official partner of the 2015 European Capital of Culture event, a significant cultural milestone that contributed to Mons's architectural heritage restoration and the creation of numerous museums.
• Digital ValleyminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerARTS² is involved in the Digital Valley initiative in Hainaut, a regional effort focused on digital economy transformation and numeric universe innovation.
• UCLouvain in HainautcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCollaborates with UCLouvain in Hainaut, sharing facilities such as the Chapelle des Sœurs Noires and Ateliers de l'UCLouvain en Hainaut for concerts and events.
• AEQES (Agence pour l'évaluation de la qualité de l'enseignement supérieur)coreOthersARTS² participates in quality evaluation processes conducted by AEQES, the independent agency for quality evaluation in higher education in the Fédération Wallonie-Bruxelles.

Scale indicators3 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Direct peers

• Royal Academy of Fine Arts Antwerp: Belgian art academy offering visual arts programs in Antwerp. Direct peer for visual arts higher education with comparable heritage, fine arts specialization profile, and Belgian institutional positioning.
• P.A.R.T.S. (Performing Arts Research and Training Studios): Brussels-based contemporary dance school founded by Anne Teresa De Keersmaeker. Direct peer for dance education - ARTS² dance faculty (Sarah Piccinelli) teach at P.A.R.T.S., indicating direct programmatic overlap and competition in advanced contemporary dance training.
• ECAL (École cantonale d'art de Lausanne): Swiss university of art and design in Lausanne. Comparable visual arts and design education institution, particularly relevant given ARTS² design faculty credentials (Hugo Paternostre graduated from ECAL).
• Conservatoire Royal de Liège: Belgian Royal Conservatory in Liège offering music and performing arts programs. Direct peer institution with similar mission, comparable curriculum framework, and shared regulatory oversight within Fédération Wallonie-Bruxelles.
• Conservatoire Royal de Bruxelles: Belgian Royal Conservatory in Brussels offering music and theatre education. Direct peer to ARTS²'s Royal Conservatory of Mons, sharing the same institutional model under Fédération Wallonie-Bruxelles and serving as the primary Belgian alternative for the same student base.
• LUCA School of Arts: Belgian multidisciplinary art school formed by merging several Belgian art institutions (including Sint-Lukas and NARAFI). Direct peer offering comparable programs in visual arts, music, and performing arts across multiple Belgian campuses under the same Flemish/Walloon higher education framework.
• Royal Conservatoire of Scotland: Scotland's international conservatory for music, drama, dance, production, and film. Peer for benchmarking quality and faculty pedigree in music and performing arts education, with comparable program breadth across performing disciplines.
• ZHdK (Zürcher Hochschule der Künste): Zurich University of the Arts, one of Europe's largest multidisciplinary arts universities. Comparable multi-domain arts school covering music, theatre, dance, film, and design - with documented faculty connections (Loris Douyez specialized at ZHdK).
• La Cambre (ESA-VL): École Supérieure des Arts visuels et de l'Espace in Brussels. Direct peer for visual arts programs - several ARTS² faculty have La Cambre connections, and both schools share the École Supérieure des Arts institutional model and degree framework.
• INSAS: Institut National Supérieur des Arts du Spectacle et des Techniques de Diffusion in Brussels. Direct peer for theatre and performing arts training, with substantial overlap in dramatic art curriculum and shared faculty networks.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses3 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks4 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Xtwitter.com/artsaucarre
• Facebookfacebook.com/arts2Mons
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/artsaucarre

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles31 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 ARTS²