Nedda El-Asmar appointed as first female head of the Royal Academy of Fine Arts Antwerp
The Royal Academy of Fine Arts Antwerp | AP University College is proud to announce the appointment of Nedda El-Asmar as the new head of the Academy. With this historic appointment, El-Asmar becomes the very first female head in the more than 360-year history of the renowned Antwerp school of arts.
Nedda El-Asmar was born in 1968 in Aalst, Belgium, to a Belgian-Palestinian family. She studied Jewellery Design and Silversmithing at the Royal Academy of Fine Arts in Antwerp and Jewellery Design, Gold & Silversmithing at the Royal College of Art in London. Since then, she has built an impressive career as a designer. Her work spans a wide range of products, from cutlery and tableware to everyday objects. She has collaborated with leading international brands such as Hermès, Puiforcat, Robbe & Berking and Villeroy & Boch.
In January 2025, El-Asmar received the Lifetime Achievement Gold Award at the Henry van de Velde Awards, Belgium’s most prestigious design awards. The jury recognized her for her remarkable career as a designer, in which she masterfully combines craftsmanship and innovation. Her designs are characterized by a perfect balance of functionality, aesthetics, and timelessness, with elegance and simplicity always at the core.
In addition to her work as a designer, El-Asmar has also made significant contributions to education. From 2007 to 2019, she served as artistic coordinator and lecturer in Jewellery Design and Silversmithing at the Royal Academy of Fine Arts in Antwerp. Since 2019, she has been artistic coordinator and lecturer at PXL-MAD School of Arts in Hasselt.
Nedda El-Asmar: "For outsiders, the Academy of Antwerp is mainly recognizable by its iconic gatehouse and the historic garden where students and teachers meet. Let us continue to build the Academy as an autonomous, safe place where various creative practices come together and where people connect with one another. This institution is both a place and an invitation where, above all, we strive to understand each other’s artistic practices and personalities—a unique space where we cultivate critical thinking about what ‘making’ and ‘thinking’ can still mean in this rapidly changing world.
With her appointment as head of the Royal Academy of Fine Arts Antwerp, El-Asmar marks an important milestone in both her career and the history of the Academy. Her extensive experience as a designer and her dedication to education will be invaluable assets to the future of the institution.
Welcome Nedda!