Programme description
The programme spans over four years. Each year is guided by several studio tutors and guests. Additionally, theory tutors are teaching in mixed years. An academic year is divided into four blocks of about seven to eight weeks. It is within these blocks that all teaching takes place. Between the blocks are so-called gap weeks. During these weeks, students utilize self-study or communal study as their main tool whilst the rest of the department will develop and prepare for the upcoming block.
Guiding principles/Starting points
An integral part of the four-year trajectory is the study group ecosystem. Akin to short seven-week courses where years are mixed, they present the opportunity to choose and focus on a specific skill, medium, or subject matter, from beginners to advanced levels. In January, the annual A Festival of Ideas takes place. This week is dedicated to the celebration of ideas with a program of research presentations by students, alums, and tutors, guest lectures, workshops, presentations, film programs, cooking, and performances.
KABK also offers an academy-wide programme that spans from a shared research and discourse course to lecture programs and a range of courses (Individual Study Trajectory) that students can choose from. These courses are an excellent opportunity for students to discover their personal potential and ambitions and customise their studies accordingly.
The studio forms the foundation of the entire study programme, from which all interactions and engagements with tutors, guests, and fellow students are centred. Our education is based on the understanding that contemporary art does not happen in a vacuum, and as such is closely linked to historical, social, political, and cultural contexts and discourses.
We want the students to thrive in the vibrating and queer intersection of theory, research, community, and art. We believe that the best way to achieve that is by combining unorthodox teaching methods, such as communal meals, walks, singing, and gardening with more traditional teaching models like tutorials, skill learning, lectures, and group talks.
The curriculum is aimed to encourage the enmeshment of studio practice, research, theory, and writing. We believe that developing a writing practice is crucial to any artistic development. Thus, from year one to four students maintain a writing practice that helps formulate artistic questions whilst developing a vocabulary that is appropriate to their practice. In year three, the students are introduced to experimental writing as part of artistic practice as well as non-written experimental responses to theoretical texts and ideas.
Full-time programme structure per year
The full-time bachelor Fine Arts degree spans over four academic years and amounts to 240 ECTS.
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
Courses Semester 1 | ECTS |
---|---|
Studio Practice | 21 |
Critical Practice | 6 |
100 Day Programme | 1.5 |
Discourse | 1.5 |
Collective | 0 |
Total ECTS credits | 30 |
Courses Semester 2 | ECTS |
---|---|
Studio Practice | 20 |
Critical Practice | 6 |
Research | 1.5 |
Discourse | 1.5 |
Collaboration Week | 1 |
Collective 2 | 0 |
Total ECTS credits | 30 |
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
Courses Semester 1 | ECTS |
---|---|
Studio Practice | 17 |
Critical Inquiry | 6 |
Studium Generale | 1 |
Open Practice / IST | 6 |
Collective 3 | 0 |
Total ECTS credits | 30 |
Courses Semester 2 | ECTS |
---|---|
Studio Practice | 17 |
Critical Inquiry | 6 |
Studium Generale | 1 |
Open Practice / IST | 6 |
Collective 4 | 0 |
Total ECTS credits | 30 |
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
Courses Semester 1 | ECTS |
---|---|
Studio Practice | 18 |
Critical Practice | 6 |
IST | 6 |
Collective 5 | 0 |
Total ECTS credits | 30 |
Courses Semester 2 | ECTS |
---|---|
Studio Practice | 18 |
Critical Inquiry | 6 |
Open Practice / IST | 6 |
Collective 6 | 0 |
Total ECTS credits | 30 |
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.
Courses Semester 1 | ECTS |
---|---|
Studio Practice | 18 |
Research Paper | 12 |
Collective 7 | 0 |
Total ECTS credits | 30 |
Courses Semester 2 | ECTS |
---|---|
Studio Practice and Final Exam Project | 27 |
Research Paper | 3 |
Collective 8 | 0 |
Total ECTS credits | 30 |
OER 2023-2024
Education and Examination Regulations
You can find information about the regulations and provisions dealing with the organisation of the programme and the assessments and examinations related to it in the Education and Examination Regulations (in Dutch: Onderwijs- en examenregeling; OER)