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.
