Established in 1857, Sir JJ School of Art has pioneered Art, Architecture and Design education and practice in India. It was named after Sir Jamshedjee Jeejeebhoy, the first Baronet from India, who had generously donated Rupee 100,000 for its establishment. The campus boasts nine acres of space and has been recognised by the government of India as a heritage campus. Since then, all the schools at JJ have established a proven track record of setting domain-specific standards for the past 160 years. Located in the prime location of South Mumbai, all three schools of JJ rest at the single heritage campus, recognized worldwide as the Sir JJ Art Campus.
The first drawing class at the School began on March 2, 1857. In 1866, the management of the school was taken over by the Government of India. Three ateliers were set up in 1865: (i) Decorative Paintings, (ii) Modelling, and (iii) Ornamental Wrought Iron Work. Drawing instruction was introduced as a subject in 1879, and a training programme for drawing teachers began in 1893. The Department of Art-Crafts was founded in 1891. The School of Architecture offered its first course in 1900. The Draughtsman’s classes, which formed the foundation of the Department of Architecture, were added in 1896. The Sir George Clarke Studies and Laboratories were built in 1910 for the advanced study of crafts, starting with pottery. A decade after Indian independence, the Departments of Architecture and Applied Art had been renamed the ‘Sir J. J. College of Architecture’ and the ‘Sir J. J. Institute of Applied Art’ respectively. In 1981, the School became affiliated with the University of Mumbai.
Over the years the institution has nurtured students into becoming pioneers in their respective fields. They continue to bring glory to JJ to this day. Most practising creative leaders in art, architecture and design have walked on these hallowed grounds.
The Nobel prize winner, Sir Rudyard Kipling, was born on the campus. The institution prides itself on producing alumni who have proved their mettle: from India’s first Oscar award winner to India’s first Pritzker’s award (the highest award in architecture). Our students have bagged about sixteen Padma awards, our nation’s premier civilian award honouring the brightest stars in their field.
The alumni of our school have also helped in founding Institutions of National importance and international repute such as the National Institute of Design (NID), the Industrial Design Centre (IIT-B), the Center for Environmental Planning and Technology, the Indian Institute of Architects, the Council of Architecture, the National Association of Students of Architecture and so on. Needless to say, excellence is the bedrock of all three schools (Art, Architecture and Applied Art) on the JJ campus!
To transform the creative education ecosystem by providing inclusive, interdisciplinary and sustainable design education and nurturing new generations of art and design professionals, and, while acknowledging diversity and the individual voice, humanizing design in the service of society.
