Gerrit Rietveld Academie

Art academy in Amsterdam, Netherlands

52°20′29″N 4°51′36″E / 52.34139°N 4.86000°E / 52.34139; 4.86000Websiterietveldacademie.nl

The Gerrit Rietveld Academie, also known as Rietveld School of Art & Design and Rietveld Academy, is an art academy in Amsterdam, Netherlands. It was founded in 1924 and offers programs in fine arts and design.

History

The Instituut voor Kunstnijverheidsonderwijs (Institute for Arts and Crafts Education) was founded by merging three art schools.

In 1968, following the completion of the Rietveld Building, the school was renamed to Gerrit Rietveld Academie, in honor of Gerrit Rietveld^[1]

From 1939 to 1960, the education provided was strongly influenced by the functionalist and socially critical ideas of De Stijl and the Bauhaus, partly due to the role of the socialist architect Mart Stam as Director of Education.^[2]

During the 1960s and 1970s, the school saw an increase in the role and influence of autonomous visual art and individual expression. These influences, combined with a practical focus and a critical mindset, are still a significant part of the academy's image.^[3]

In 2003, the Benthem Crouwel Building, designed by Benthem Crouwel Architects, was completed.^[1]

In 2019, the Fedlev Building designed by Paulien Bremmer of the Fedlev collective and Hootsmans Architects was completed.^[1]

Education

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The Gerrit Rietveld Academy offers two bachelor's and five permanent master's programmes.

• Foundation year: the initial year of the Bachelor's education programme. In this first, formative year, a comprehensive art-theoretical framework is offered in combination with an intensive practical programme to introduce students into a broad range of media and techniques. During the foundation year, students also orient themselves in terms of the academy's various specializations, for which they enrol during the following year.
• Bachelor’s: Within the bachelor's program, it is possible to follow a Bachelor of Fine Arts or a Bachelor of Design. There are various specializations within these two programmes. After a general first year – the foundation year – students choose one of these graduation tracks. This is followed by three years of specialization. The Rietveld Academy also offers a part-time education, in which case the foundation year actually takes two years, followed by three years of specialization.
• Master’s: The master's programmes at the Rietveld Academy are housed within the Sandberg Institute. The five permanent departments at the Sandberg Institute are: Critical Studies, Design, Dirty Art Department, Fine Arts and Studio for Immediate Spaces.^[4]
• Preparatory Training & Orientation Year: The Rietveld Academy offers several preparatory training courses for those who want to prepare to study at the Rietveld Academy: a preparatory training year and an orientation year. During the preparatory training year, a student follows lessons at the academy for 3.5 half-days a week. After completing the preparatory training year, it is possible to enrol directly in the foundation year. Another preparatory track for the Rietveld Academy is the orientation year, in which candidates attend classes at the academy for 30 Saturdays a year. After completion of this year, a candidate will still need to apply for admission before he or she can start the foundation year.
• Preparatory Training on Aruba: Starting on 10 October 2011, the Rietveld Academy will also be offering a preparatory training course on Aruba, which will focus mainly on the Caribbean and on the two American continents. This preparatory course, which lasts for 30 weeks, will be taught by various teachers from the Rietveld's Amsterdam school. This preparatory training year is a preparatory study track for the Gerrit Rietveld Academy's accredited bachelor's degree in Fine Arts and Design, which is scheduled to begin in 2012 on Aruba.

65.9% of the student population comes from abroad, originating from over 60 different countries around the world. Most of the classes are in English.

Particular specialisations are Inter-Architecture; Fine Arts; DesignLAB; Graphic Design; Fashion; Jewellery; TxT (Textiles); Image and Language; Photography; Glass; Ceramics; VAV - Moving Image; and DOGtime.

DOGtime, the Rietveld Academy's evening school, offers a two-year foundation programme. This is followed by a three-year degree track, with the choice of the following one of two directions: Autonomous Fine Art, or Interaction, Design, and Unstable Media (IDUM for short).

Expedition Academy

For the academy, traveling abroad is essential for students' development. Among other destinations, the academy has organized trips abroad in the past years to China, India, Iran, Nepal, Switzerland, Hungary, Spain, Italy, and Sweden.

Events

Every year, the Rietveld Academy organizes a number of public events, including:

• Rietveld in the Oude Kerk (January/February): In January, the Gerrit Rietveld Academy stages an annual exhibition with approximately 45 students from various departments, in Amsterdam's Oude Kerk.
• Graduation exhibition (July): Every year, the Rietveld Academy's students who are eligible for graduation present their work during the Rietveld's graduation exhibition. The academy is transformed into an exhibition space, and work can be seen from every department. The graduation exhibition attracts many visitors from outside the academy, including art gallery owners and art collectors. The graduation exhibition is held annually in early July.
• Rietveld UnCut (November): Much like the Open Day and the graduation exhibition, Rietveld UnCut is an occasion where the academy presents itself to outside world, in all its facets. Rietveld UnCut differs from the Open Day and the graduation exhibition in that it actively seeks to interact with the public. Since 2009, Rietveld UnCut has been organized by former students Tarja Szaraniec and Tomas Adolfs, in collaboration with the Flemish cultural centre De Brakke Grond. Under the supervision of guest director and visual artist Maze de Boer, students present their work to the outside world. Rietveld UnCut is held every year in November.

Affiliated organizations

• Public Rietveld
• The Rietveld Society - the alumni network
• Studium Generale - multi-disciplinary lecture series and research project
• Professorship of Art and Public Space

In Residence

The Rietveld Research Residency (RRR) is a research opportunity for artists, created by the Gerrit Rietveld Academy in cooperation with, among others, the Fonds BKVB. The artists are given the opportunity to execute a clearly defined research project within a period of 1.5 to 3 years, as part of the educational framework of the Gerrit Rietveld Academy. Interaction with the academy's students and teachers forms an important part of their work.

In 2011, visual artist Henri Jacobs and philosopher Ann Meskens are filling this residency at the Gerrit Rietveld Academy.

Student life

At the Rietveld Academy, activities and projects are regularly organized for and by students. One example is Radio Rietveld, which is run entirely by students. Gerry Strawfield is the academy's student organization. Three times a year, Gerry Strawfield organizes a student party, including the prom during the final exam period.

Affiliated people

Notable teachers

Notable alumni

References

External links

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