Opened in 2013, the Écoles Créatives (“Creative Schools”) bring together ESMA (l’École Supérieure des Métiers Artistiques, or the “higher school of artistic professions”), and CinéCréatis. Located in the Parc des Chantiers district, the schools offer 2 creative training courses and have all the educational tools to encourage student creativity to speak for itself.
ESMA trains students in 3D animation and special effects over a four-year curriculum. One year of prep classes in “Entertainment” precedes the official programme, which help them acquire skills in drawing, volumes, and storytelling. Films made in the final year are also regularly selected for leading festivals throughout the world.
As for CinéCréatis, it offers a full three-year training programme for students wishing to work in the audiovisual and film industry. Directing, producing, shooting, and post-production — all the essential stages in filmmaking — are taught in order to train the industry’s leading professionals of tomorrow.
The Écoles Créatives belong to the Icônes group: a major network for higher education in the creative sector.
L’Étrange Atelier du cordonnier
In the building’s display window, a workshop stands frozen in time, where strange shoes take shape without ever being worn. This 3D-printed footwear conjures up the shoemaker’s craft without any leather being worn out or footprints being made. Between the initial sketches and final stages of manufacturing, this installation plays with reality and illusion: an artisan without hands, and skill applied to an absent material. Here, a workshop becomes a stage where the shoe is both object and ghost.
Every Thursday at 3 PM, as part of a flash tour, the school opens its doors to reveal students’ production secrets. Turn a corner, and visitors will find a set of whimsical creatures displayed last summer, along with a film set. Lastly, the small, intimate theatre invites the public to watch student films.
Flash tours every Thursday at 3 PM. No reservation required, subject to availability.
See the whole 2025 inter-school itinerary
6 Rue René Siegfried, 44200 Nantes
How to get there?
Parking(s) nearby: Parking Les Nefs, Parking Les Machines
Public transport: Prairie au Duc, Quai des Antilles, Gare Maritime, Chantiers Navals
Self-service bicycles: Grue Jaune (n°103), Machine De L'île (n°43), Antilles (n°104), Gare Maritime (n°42), Brunelière (n°41)
Visual artworks.