The school building that houses our studios was built in 1913 and dedicated to Johanna de Lestonac who was the first to establish catholic schools for girls around 1600.

As noble lady, she was the niece of humanist and philosopher Michel de Montagne, she married Gaston de Montferrand, Baron of Landiras, in 1573, with whom she had seven children. Three of them died in infancy. Two of them where already in the convent and when her husband died, she also wanted to enter the convent, but there she fell ill. She was ready to die when the mother superior of the monastery told her that was a sign that she needed to go out into the world again, and she recovered. In 1605, the plague broke out in Bordeaux. Johanna led a group of young women to care for sick plague victims. Commissioned by Jesuits, she and these inspired women continued their collaboration to found girls' schools in Bordeaux.

She obeyed her calling to found in 1607 ,La Congrégation des Filles de Notre-Dame' (the Order of the Daughters of Our Lady) for the purpose of teaching girls in schools.
She proved to be very dedicated and obedient to her vocation and her modesty caused her to be beatified in 1900, just before our school was built and canonized in 1949.
Johanna de Lestonac is pictured with a book and sometimes with a girl pupil by her side.

All emancipation starts with education. I want more women to fly through the glass ceiling so it makes me happy in my latest photo, one is flying high. When you want to come and see more of our work feel welcome to send us an email. 

 

 

The weekend of

13th and 14th of April

we welcomed guests

in ten studios ánd the stairwell

Dobbelmannweg 5, 6531KT Nijmegen


Featuring the latest artworks by:

Casper ter Heerdt

Isolde Venrooy

Marena Seeling

Lindy de Jong

Judit Hettema

Michiel van Pinxteren

Gerard van der Kamp

Marc Cristiaans

Coen Vernooij

Bob Lejeune

Frank Bezemer

Margriet Smulders