Application Deadline: January 1, 2009
Institute for Postgraduate
Studies and Research
Willem de Kooning Academy /
Rotterdam University
http://www.pzwart.nl
The Programme:
The Fine Art programme at the Piet Zwart Institute is based on an understanding of contemporary art as embedded within a larger field of cultural, social and political practices. It encourages critical discourse on artistic practice and places an emphasis on self-reflection and analysis. Furthermore, public interaction is given a special focus, inciting participants to connect with practitioners outside of the Piet Zwart Institute and present their works to general audiences.
Our English-taught two-year Master degree programme provides an international platform in which artists can develop their practice through independent studio work as well as a lively dialogue with artists, curators and theorists from a diversity of disciplines: art, theatre, literature, philosophy, film, and others. Our students, faculty members and guests come from a variety of different countries: Canada, Germany, Great-Britain, Israel, Lebanon, the Netherlands, New-Zealand, Rumania, Turkey, the United States, among many others, providing participants in our programme a truly international experience.
We offer generous studio space and a variety of technical facilities, including editing suites, photo labs, workshops for typography, wood, plastics and ceramics, etc. Students receive very strong individual tutorial support with weekly studio visits by both regular staff and guests. Furthermore, we offer a challenging programme of annually changing thematic projects, exhibitions, seminars, excursions and public lectures that provide a broad framework for the exploration of issues relevant to contemporary culture and society. The small size of the programme (20-25 students) makes for intensive and focussed discussions and allows for close interactions between the course director, faculty members, guests, and students, creating a very special community around Piet Zwart Insitute.
The Faculty:
Our faculty and guests are practitioners in contemporary art and culture with a very active professional practice. They include Ulf Aminde (artist), Liesbeth Bik (member of Rotterdam-based artist duo BikvanderPol), Marc Camille Chaimowicz (artist), Diedrich Diederichsen (writer), Anselm Franke (co-curator of Manifesta7 in Trento), Mika Hannula (writer and curator), Hila Peleg Franke (co-curator of Manifesta7 in Trento), Dieter Roelstraete (writer, associate editor of Afterall), Jalal Toufic (artist, writer), Jan Verwoert (art critic), among many others. For further information on our faculty and guests, please see www.pzwart.wdka.hro.nl/fama/staff/.
The Public Lecture Series:
In addition to our curriculum, we organize an ongoing public lecture series based on issues related to the curriculum, but reaching beyond the framework of the seminars. The public lectures are an important ressource for students, tutors and guests, serving as bridge to the city and building a community around areas of interests. Recent lecture series have dealt with “Notions of Storytelling” (curated by Uqbar Foundation), “The Heroic” (curated by Maxine Kopsa), “Speechless: The Proximity of Gesture, Philosophy and Cinema” (curated by Hadley Maxwell), “The Monstrous at Play” (curated by Felix Ensslin), among others. Please see http://pzwart.wdka.hro.nl/fama/public/ for further information on our lecture series.
Information:
For application forms and further information on our curriculum or public programme, please see http://www.pzwart.nl or contact us at [email protected]
Piet Zwart Institute
Mauritsstraat 36
3012 CJ Rotterdam
The Netherlands
http://www.pzwart.nl
Image above:
“Piet Zwart Institute graduates and tutors 2008″.
Photo: Fred Ernst
For more information go to: http://www.pzwart.nl