The first year is a formative one. As a new student, you are thrown into a whirlwind of impressions, contradictions, and experimentation. You get introduced to several key theories and concepts, research skills, and teaching methods. Together, we question our assumptions and expand our preconceived ideas on art and art history, and we slowly start developing that crucial, critical eye needed to create art ourselves.

You get introduced to different workshops in practical skills and you get acquainted with working in different materials—from metal casting to painting, from performance to experimental drawing. The aim is to lay a foundation so that you can work both independently and together. Year one differs from the other three in that you work from assignments and a more structured study. A fun and intense year that sets the pace for the years to come.

Courses & ECTS credits 2023-2024

In the second year, you start working independently and you must develop an internal engine for making and thinking. The focus in year two is on experimenting with techniques, which often entails concept building and constructions of linear/non-linear narratives. Students are made familiar with different artistic approaches relating to their ideas, concepts, and work-in-progress which are presented and discussed. Through lectures, seminars, reading groups, and presentations the students are introduced to key historical and contemporary epistemologies and discourses. This way, they are given the tools needed to enrich their practice, gain an understanding of the history and context that shape contemporary art, and engage critically in issues in culture and society.

Courses & ECTS credits 2023-2024

Year three focuses on mixing and merging artistic practice and research into independent art-making and a deeper contextualisation. With an open mind and well-developed experimental skills, the students begin to consolidate their practice and reinforce their decision-making. They apply their skills in addressing themes that are important to them and which they regard as essential for our culture and society. Collaboration and presentation form part of their exploration.

Students plan and manage all aspects of an exhibition as a test forum for the final degree show and as a live experiment for their future professional life. In a series of seminars, the students get the opportunity to make a deep dive into several urgent themes and discourses, such as art in public space, digital enmeshments, artistic research strategies, queer studies, anthropocentrism, non-Western and Indigenous thought or speculative practices. Research in the arts (and the discourse surrounding it) will also be analysed, critiqued, and questioned.

Courses & ECTS credits 2023-2024

The final year aims to prepare students to establish a professional art practice. The refinement of a body of work, guided by staff, externals, and peer discussions, is paralleled by refining theoretical and writing skills. The students will mainly concentrate on the Graduation Show—a complex project that can unfold in several exciting directions.

In parallel, the students write a research paper, the aim of which is to articulate the ideas and questions that shape, inform, or tickle the studio practice. The research paper is an excellent opportunity for the students to go beyond their assumptions and challenge themselves to find new ways to enrich their practice.