The Royal Academy of Fine Arts in Ghent is one of the oldest art schools in Belgium and has been the breeding ground of Flemish cultural and artistic life for much of its history. The academy’s thoroughgoing focus on practice-based artistic research has given a fresh impetus to artistic and intellectual inquiry. The self-reflective and critical attitude, which to a certain extent has been implicit in the story of art from day one, has grown into distinct doctoral and post-doctoral programmes at today’s art academies. That academic standards may not stand apart from what goes on in the art world at large is a point the Royal Academy of Ghent finds worth emphasizing. Along its association with the Ghent University, academic networks and specialized journals, the Royal Academy is co-editor of the international art publication A Prior Magazine; it has established the independent exhibition project KIOSK; and it organizes events and workshops in close collaboration with Ghent’s lively art scene, including the Higher Institute of the Arts (HISK) and the city’s Museum of Contemporary Art (S.M.A.K.), all within walking distance of the academy’s premises.