Gerrit Rietveld Academie


The Gerrit Rietveld Academie also known as Rietveld School of Art & Design and Rietveld Academy, is a Dutch academy founded in 1924 for the study of fine arts and design in Amsterdam, Netherlands.

History

The Gerrit Rietveld Academy has its origins in the 1924 merger of three schools, which then became known as the Institute of Applied Art, or simply the Applied Arts School. From 1939 to 1960, education 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.
Since the 1960s and especially the 1970s, the role and influence of autonomous visual art and individual expression have grown in importance. These influences, combined with a practical focus and a critical mindset, still determine a significant part of the academy's image. In 1967, the school moved to its current academy building, which was designed by architect and furniture designer Gerrit Rietveld.
When in 1968, the school became part of the system of the Higher Vocational Education system, receiving the status of an Academy of Fine Arts and Design, its name was changed to Gerrit Rietveld Academy as a tribute to the recently deceased Rietveld.

Education

The Gerrit Rietveld Academy offers two bachelor's and five permanent master's programmes.
More than 45% of the student population comes from abroad, originating from over 60 different countries around the world. Most of the classes are in English. The Academy's highly conceptual and experimental approach is aimed at research-driven students who consistently strive to research new areas and push boundaries.
Particular specialisations are Inter-Architecture; Fine Arts; DesignLAB; Graphic Design; Fashion; Jewellery; TxT ; Image and Language; Photography; Glass; Ceramics; VAV; 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.

Expedition Academy

Students who wish to be admitted to the Gerrit Rietveld Academy are expected to be receptive and self-reflective for the underlying purpose of discussing ideas and concepts. The academy seeks to stimulate these qualities, hereby challenging students to question those aspects important to the individual. For the academy, traveling abroad is an essential facet of this personal development. Common travels engage students on an interpersonal level, as well as in relation to their environment. This in effect becomes the motive for yielding a creative epiphany. 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:
;Public Rietveld
Public Rietveld is committed to ensuring the broadest possible interaction between the Gerrit Rietveld Academy and the outside world. That is why Public Rietveld is always looking for interesting forms of collaboration, both within the academy and outside. Its goal is to promote the presentation of the academy's students and teachers to the outside world. Public Rietveld consists of: communication and PR, internet communications, The Rietveld Society, student projects, TV Rietveld, and Radio Rietveld.
;The Rietveld Society
The Rietveld Academie is very proud of the Rietveld alumni, and consequently would like to know how all alumni have been doing since graduation. That is why the academy would like to extend a warm invitation to all Rietveld alumni to become a member of the Alumni Network: The Rietveld Society. Through this network the Rietveld Academie hopes to keep in touch with the alumni and more importantly offer her alumni a platform to stay in touch with old Rietveld friends and other alumni.
;Studium Generale
Studium Generale Rietveld Academy is a comprehensive trans-disciplinary theory programme focused on students and teachers from Gerrit Rietveld Academy's every single department, but is also accessible to the outside public. Every year, a number of curators are asked to invite guest speakers to address a specific theme. The goal of Studium Generale Rietveld Academy is to provide insight into how art and design are linked to other domains – the connections between our now and our past and future, and between our here and elsewhere. Based on the belief that you can only learn to think independently and critically if you dare to interconnect your knowledge, imagination, and reflection in unorthodox ways, every year Studium Generale Rietveld Academy embarks upon a new and exciting research project that is linked to the current discourse in a variety of ways.
; Professorship of Art and Public Space
The Professorship of Art and Public Space at the Gerrit Rietveld Academy promotes research and theoretical reflection on the role of art and design in the public domain. It was created through collaboration between the Gerrit Rietveld Academy, the Sandberg Institute, the University of Amsterdam, the Foundation for Art and Public Space, and the Virtual Museum Zuidas. Within the Rietveld Academy and the Sandberg Institute, the professorship supervises a so-called “knowledge circle”, in which research is coordinated and discussed. In connection with the research conducted in this context, educational projects emerge in which theoretical notions and reflections are further developed with groups of students. In addition, the professorship focuses on extending and strengthening the academy's theoretical education in general.

In Residence

The Rietveld Research Residency 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 also 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. The Gerry Strawfield Prom is often held at a special location; in 2009, for example, it was held at the Beurs van Berlage near Amsterdam's Dam Square.

Affiliated people

Notable teachers

;Current
;Past