Graduation Show 2020

Gerrit Rietveld Academie proudly presents the work of almost 160 fine art and design graduates in its annual Graduation Show. The work of the graduates, from 14 different departments, show a wide variety of approaches, objectives, thematic focus and presentation. The art will be displayed in three buildings with a total area of 7,500 square meters.

As is often the case, this year many graduates have been inspired by today’s big questions. They have especially drawn on the coronavirus pandemic for ideas, documenting these exceptional times. Other current themes are also highlighted. In See you again for the first time, next time - Collaging Beirut, Nadja Schlenker (designLAB) depicts the heart and soul of the city away from the news and media coverage of the Middle East so often associated with images of war and violence. The explosion of 4 August makes her topic even more timely. With the installation The Pendant, Mayis Rukel (VAV) creates a new poetic and political narrative about dysfunctional social systems and the harm they inflict, from the forced disappearances in Turkey in the 1990s to the border politics of the EU.

This year, the annual Gerrit Rietveld Academie Fashion Show by fashion graduates could not take place at the usual time—the first weekend of June—due to the pandemic. Instead of a runway show, the department has opted for an alternative Fashion Show: a continuous, multidisciplinary presentation in the gym of the monumental academy building which will take place during the Graduation Show.

2020’s Graduation Show campaign is designed by graphic design graduates Victoria Allakhverdyan, Pablo Bardinet and Maxime Selin. Describing the concept behind the campaign, they say: “Our aim was to create a visual lens and capture the nature of graduating from an art school. The dreamy world of the semi-abstract landscapes we created is populated with adjectives that represent the various emotional states that we go through over the course of an education. Liberated, dazzled, wasted, delighted and many more. We wanted to create a campaign that evokes gentle, melancholic feelings for all the students graduating during the strange year of 2020.”

A special addition this year is the auction event The Show Must Go On, featuring work by 2020’s graduating students and teaching staff. This event should help to build a lasting support structure for Rietveld Academie students in financial need through the Berlage Fund. The auction is an initiative by the Student Support Group in collaboration with the Dead Darlings collective.