Institute for Postgraduate Studies and Research
Willem de Kooning Academy Rotterdam University
Application Deadlines: July 1 (only EU students)
The Programme:
The Fine Art programme is based on an understanding of contemporary art as embedded within a larger field of cultural, social and political practices. It encourages critical discourse on artistic practice, and places an emphasis on self-reflection and analysis. Furthermore, public interaction is given a special focus, inciting students to connect with practitioners outside of the academy and present their work to general audiences.
Our English-taught, two-year Master programme provides an international platform on which artists can develop their practices through independent studio work as well as a lively dialogue with artists, curators and theorists from a diversity of disciplines: art, theatre, literature, philosophy, cinema, and others. Our students, faculty members and guests hail from: Canada, Germany, Great Britain, Israel, Lebanon, the Netherlands, New Zealand, Rumania, Turkey, the United States, among many other countries, providing participants in our programme with a truly international experience.
We offer generous studio space and a variety of technical facilities, including editing suites, photo labs, workshops for typography, wood, plastics, ceramics, etc. Students receive strong individual tutorial support with weekly studio visits by both regular staff and guests. Furthermore, we offer a challenging programme of annually changing thematic projects, seminars, excursions and lectures that provide a broad framework for the exploration of issues relevant to contemporary culture and society. The small size of the programme makes for intensive and dynamic discussions and focused interactions between the course director, faculty members, guests and students.
The Faculty:
Our faculty members and guests are practitioners in contemporary art and culture with a very active professional practice. This year, the faculty members include Liesbeth Bik (member of artist duo Bik Van der Pol), Bernd Krauss (artist), Hadley+Maxwell (artists), Nathaniel Mellors (artist), Lili Reynaud-Dewar (artist), Steve Rushton (writer), Monika Szewczyk (head of publications at Witte de With) and Jan Verwoert (art critic and contributing editor of Frieze).
Guests include Ellen Blumenstein (curator), Dieter Roelstraete (writer and curator), Paulina Olowska (artist), Jutta Koether (artist), Chris Evans (artist), Anthony Huberman (curator and writer), Willem de Rooij (artist), Michael Stevenson (artist), and Alexis Vaillant (curator), among many others. The team of faculty members and guests varies every year. For further information, please see pzwart.wdka.hro.nl/fama/staff.
The Public Lecture Series:
Alongside our curriculum, we organise ongoing public lecture series, realise exhibitions, and produce publications based on issues related to our curriculum, but reaching beyond the framework of our seminar and studio-based programme. These public moments are an important resource for students, faculty members and guests, serving as a bridge to the city, and building a community around areas of interests. Our programme thus combines a variety of approaches that function as frameworks for the joint exploration of issues relevant to art and culture.
Information:
For application forms, application criteria and further information on our curriculum or public programme, please see www.pzwart.wdka.nl or contact us at [email protected].
Piet Zwart Institute
Postgraduate Studies and Research
Willem de Kooning Academy Rotterdam University
Mauritsstraat 36
NL-3011 XZ Rotterdam