Basque School of Art and High School of Design

IDarte is the public higher school of art and design of Euskadi and treats design as a public service that makes the world a better place. Education and innovation are its stated objectives, and it presents itself as a laboratory rather than a conventional academy.

It works on a learn-by-doing philosophy in which teachers and students collaborate, and the principle extends to the campus: staff and students have built each workspace, digital service and product the school uses, from its brand and furniture to its website. Subject areas run from photography, artistic foundations and history to construction, graphic design projects and typography, interior design projects and business management.

Higher artistic education in design leads to the Degree in Design, with specialisms in Interior Design and Graphic Design, while higher vocational cycles cover Animation, Photography and Illustration. Places are capped at forty per specialism and year in the degrees and twenty in the cycles; the studies are recognised at MECES level 2, internships are compulsory and an Erasmus programme supports incoming and outgoing students.

Based at Betoñuko Atea 23 in Vitoria-Gasteiz, IDarte calls itself Basque and global and warns visitors to expect works in progress, since innovation in its view requires courage, practice and problem solving.