Rietveld Academy

The Gerrit Rietveld Academie (Rietveld School of Art & Design) is a Dutch academy for fine arts and design in Amsterdam, Netherlands.

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.

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 (Textiles); 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 (IDUM for short).

Students wishing to be admitted to the Rietveld Academy are expected to have an open mind, to be capable of self-reflection and to enjoy exchanging ideas. The academy aims to develop these qualities further, and to challenge students to constantly question things. For the academy, study trips are a crucial way of stimulating this mental flexibility. Travelling together to a new environment forces students to relate to each other, and to their environment, in a new way. Instead of generating passive tourists, the academy sees these trips as opportunities to stimulate fresh creativity. In the past, the academy organized trips abroad, e.g., to China, India, Iran, Nepal, Switzerland, Hungary, Spain, Italy, and Sweden.

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