Rijksakademie Open Studios 2021

On June 17 the Rijksakademie opens its doors for 11 days, for its annual open studios, shifting from the customary autumn weekend time slot to an extended summer edition, which also marks our 150th anniversary year. 44 artists will open their studios and present what has emerged from over one year of experimenting, researching and producing new work.

Resident artists 2021
Julian Abraham “Togar,” Daniel Aguilar Ruvalcaba, Özgür Atlagan, Razia Barsatie, Salim Bayri, Verena Blok, Simnikiwe Buhlungu, Sara Culmann, Tanja Engelberts, Aldo Esparza Ramos, G, Lotte van Geijn, Robert Glas, Catalina González, Lungiswa Gqunta, Saemundur Thor Helgason, Hannah Dawn Henderson, Takeshi Ikeda, Artor Jesus Inkerö, Donghwan Kam, Arturo Kameya, Özgür Kar, Pennie Key, Wouter van der Laan, Sungeun Lee, Sheng-Wen Lo, Tessa Mars, Silvia Martes, Polina Medvedeva, Ima-Abasi Okon, Ian Page, Claudia Pagès, Molly Palmer, Eoghan Ryan, Hend Samir, Ratu R. Saraswati, Silke Schönfeld, Tomasz Skibicki, Mette Sterre, Takanori Suzuki, Kanitha Tith, Anh Trần, Werker Collective, and guest resident Sands Murray-Wassink.

This year the artistic coordinators of the open studios are artist advisors Melvin Moti and Wendelien van Oldenborgh. The event will be accompanied by a programme of talks, readings and performances, which will be live for limited numbers, and live streamed through the Rijksakademie website and social media, as well as an online film programme and an extensive publication.

The publication, titled We Had Plans, a book published on the occasion of the 150th year of the Rijksakademie van beeldende kunsten in Amsterdam, which happened to coincide with a global pandemic, during which resident artists continued to work collaboratively as well as individually on their respective practices, whilst also navigating what could be called expanded practice, is edited by Irene de Craen, Taylor Le Melle and Natasha Soobramanien. The publication contains a wide array of individual and collective contributions by resident artists, showing the breadth of what happens in and around their practices, and in turn, the life of the Rijksakademie in its 150th year. Designed by Julia Born and Mevis & van Deursen, the book is 242 pages, and on publication will be available for purchase at the Rijksakademie and via the website.

Rijksakademie residency
The Rijksakademie is an international artist-in-residence programme. Over the course of two years, a diverse and multidisciplinary group of artists challenge themselves to deepen their practice and explore new territories, in and beyond the art field. Artists are supported with a studio and a stipend and enter into an open-ended process of artistic research and development. They have access to a variety of exchanges, including peer to peer dialogue, regular visits from a wide range of leading art professionals, technical workshops and guidance from technical specialists, and the library and historical collection provide a theoretical context that allows history to find its way into contemporary art practice.

Rijksakademie Open Studios 2021 coincides with the Amsterdam Art Week from June 17 to June 27.