Founded in 1962, L'INSAS [National Institute of the Performing Arts], an educational establishment of Belgium’s French-speaking Community, consists of two departments in the field of the performing arts: audiovisual and theatre. The audiovisual department is in turn divided into four sections: production (film, radio and television, writing), image, sound, and editing/script. The theatre department consists of two sections: dramatic interpretation and theatre (production, writing and stage professions).

As part of a common approach to artistic production, the teaching places the emphasis on the acquisition of practical skills and reflection in a team context.  The latter is against a background in which the arts and their teaching are inextricably linked in their continuing development and inventiveness. The teaching staff consists of professionals who are active in their field, thereby ensuring  that the technical knowledge communicated is always up to date as well as a critical reflection on technical and conceptual approaches. The diversity of the teaching staff is a reflection of current trends in artistic creation, thereby enabling students to find their own path among the many possible avenues.  The school regards this diversity as a source of wealth, obliging students to engage in reflection and exercise choice, preparing them for the difficulties inherent in the professions they will be taking up, both socially and artistically.

INSAS students represent some 20 nationalities. This mix of cultures and sensibilities creates a fertile pool from which have emerged such notable and diverse personalities as Jaco Van Dormael, Michel Khleifi, Chantal Akerman, Bruno Nuytten, Jean-Jacques Andrien, Isabelle Pousseur, Martine Wijckaert, Philippe Sireuil, Michel Dezoteux, Philippe Geluck, Charles Berling, Christian Hecq, Benoît Marige, Philippe Blasband and  Alain Berliner.

In 2009, the INSAS co-founded, together with La Cambre School of Visual Arts and the Brussels Royal Conservatory, the ART.es platform or Brussels College of the Arts.  This will be the umbrella organization for a variety of common projects and is also a member of the Wallonia-Brussels European university pole.

Over recent years the INSAS has also developed partnerships inside Belgium with other educational establishments in the field of the arts (Sint-Lukas, RITS, etc.) and cultural players (National Theatre, Varia Theatre, Brussels Film Theatre, etc.) as well participating in international exchanges (INSIS in Quebec, IRIS in Burkina Faso, Beijing Film Academy, SFZE in Budapest, La Manufacture in Lausanne, etc.) and in joint teaching projects (ESAVM in Marrakech, the INSAMM in Tunis, IRIS in Ouagadougou, organization of training in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, etc.)

Information : www.insas.be