From Disciplinary Formation to Artistic Autonomy: Higher Art Education in France and Armenia in the Age of Artificial Intelligence

Abstract

Higher art education is undergoing a significant transformation as traditional models of disciplinary and technical formation increasingly intersect with artistic autonomy, research-oriented practice, interdisciplinary learning, and artificial intelligence (AI). The article examines how educational structures and institutional cultures shape the formation of artists and designers, focusing comparatively on France and Armenia. The relevance of the topic is determined by the need to understand how contemporary institutions organise the transition from disciplinary knowledge toward independent creative agency at a moment when AI is reshaping established understandings of technical skill, authorship, and artistic decision-making. The aim of the study is to determine how different educational cultures shape the development of artistic autonomy, artistic identity, and research capacity in higher art education, and how these relationships might be transformed by artificial intelligence. The research methods are based on a comparative socio-pedagogical approach combining documentary analysis, institutional observation, curriculum analysis, and qualitative interpretation. The empirical component draws primarily on field study conducted in Saint-Étienne, France, during 2024–2025, with particular attention to the École Supérieure d'Art et Design de Saint-Étienne (ESADSE) and Université Jean Monnet, while Armenian higher art education is examined as a comparative context. The analysis is informed by Pierre Bourdieu's concept of cultural production, Michel Foucault's understanding of disciplinary formation, and the concept of artistic research. The scientific novelty of the study lies in the comparative socio-pedagogical analysis of French and Armenian higher art education as distinct educational cultures, in interpreting artistic formation as a movement from disciplinary learning toward increasing autonomy and research capacity, and in extending this framework to the relationship between artistic autonomy and artificial intelligence. The results indicate that both French and Armenian systems recognise the importance of technical and professional competence but organise the transition toward artistic autonomy differently. The French programmes examined show a more explicit progression from foundational education toward specialisation, individual projects, experimentation, professional engagement, and research-oriented practice. Armenian higher art education retains a stronger continuity with systematic technical and disciplinary formation, while incorporating comparable Bachelor–Master–Doctoral structures. Conclusions. Technical competence and artistic autonomy should not be treated as opposing educational objectives; contemporary art education requires a productive transition between disciplinary knowledge and independent creative agency. The emergence of AI further complicates this relationship by shifting attention from technical execution toward conceptual thinking, critical judgement, authorship, research capacity, and ethical responsibility. For Armenian higher art education, the findings suggest an approach based on adaptation rather than imitation, combining established traditions of technical formation with greater opportunities for specialisation, artistic research, professional practice, digital literacy, and responsible human–AI creative engagement.