The Rijksakademie van beeldende kunsten in Amsterdam selects exceptionally talented artists and offers them high quality artistic, technical and theoretical facilities. Research, experiment and developing innovative art practices are of central importance.
The resident artist can dispose over a worldwide network of contacts maintained by the Rijksakademie. Amsterdam functions as a hub for the Dutch and international art field that continues to gain artistic, social and economic significance through existing connections and the fusing of new partnerships.
The Rijksakademie van beeldende kunsten was established in 1870 by King Willem III as the successor to the Koninklijke Akademie van Beeldende Kunsten which was founded as a national academy by Royal Decree in 1817.
Practical facilities such as a studio, living accommodation, a scholarship and a work budget form the basis, but the Rijksakademie is more than a residency: concentration on work, experimentation, reflection and discussion are central.
The residents receive critical support at the highest artistic, technical and theoretical level. Internationally active artists, theoreticians and other advisors pay individual studio visits. The advisors come from different continents, cultures and generations, and offer a wide variety of views. They reflect the diversity of contemporary art practice.
esident artists work in an individual studio surrounded by approximately 50 peers from all over the world and have ongoing dialogues with a group of prominent artists and (art) professionals connected to the Rijksakademie as advisors. Ideas can be developed in co-operation with a team of interdisciplinary technical specialists in well-equipped technical workshops. Furthermore there is a Theory workshop offering a specialized art library, (historical) collections as well as a program with seminars and discussions related to topics arising from the artist community.
There is no program, no prevailing stylistic approach or ideology. The Rijksakademie offers support and opportunities.
Technical specialists manage professionally equipped workshops where artists can work and experiment with traditional and contemporary materials and techniques. In response to an individual artist’s requirements, collaboration and unexpected connections arise between the various disciplines. Facilitators support the resident artists with the practical aspects of the work process within and outside the Rijksakademie.
The Rijksakademie has a specialized public library and administers contemporary and historical collections. The theory workshop serves as a base for developing activities which promote discussion and debate.
The Rijksakademie is also a platform for pioneering initiatives and collaborations in the field of art and science. Artists develop projects in dialogue with specialists from diverse scientific and scholarly disciplines.
Taiwanese artists who have participated in this program are Tsui Kuang Yu(崔廣宇) (resident 2006-2007), Chen, Yin-Ju (陳瀅如) (resident 2010-2011), Wu, Chi-Yu (吳其育) (resident 2014-2015), Wang, Pei-Hsuan (王佩瑄) (ACC guest resident 2019) and Lo, Sheng-Wen (羅晟文) (resident 2019-2020).