Practicing art requires a certain lifestyle. Enthusiasm and intensive training are necessary every day in order to get the very best out of yourself. A study at the AHK prepares you for that. We will put your artistic and personal development first and we will train you to the highest level. In this way, you will develop your craft and your talent can blossom fully.
Our study programmes are of high quality and the education is small-scale with plenty of personal attention. In addition, our teachers often work in the field or have an interesting network. What you can expect from us further:
Excellent training entails that you, as a student, receive the best possible training. Our teachers and staff do their best every day to ensure the quality of the study programmes. And they do that successfully: the student dropout rate is low and the academic success rate is high. We also score well in the case of evaluations, such as the National Student Survey and the KUO Monitor (survey among graduates after 1.5 years and after 5 years).
Each academy of the AHK has its own quality assurance plan, which is used to monitor the quality of the study programme. Student satisfaction is also examined every year. In this way, we are continually working on improving the study programmes. We do this for the students and in order to keep satisfying external requirements from, for example, the Dutch Ministry of Education, Culture and Science.
More about quality assurance
You will find us in the heart of Amsterdam, in modern buildings with excellent facilities, which you can make full use of as a student. From historical instruments and the newest technological equipment to the libraries of all academies and those of the University of Amsterdam.
In addition, we have communal workshops at the Marineterrein. In the MakerSpace, you can experiment with new materials or technologies, such as 3D printers and laser cutters, which can be used, for example, to make scale models, models, sets and/or installations. At the VRAcademy, you will learn to work with the latest virtual reality technologies.
You will also find the AHK Culture Club and LearningLab at the Marineterrein. With the Culture Club, we offer a platform and programme to meet, create and experiment. The AHK Learning Lab houses various projects and research groups that focus on research and education at the intersection of the arts, science and technology.
An intensive arts education requires an environment in which you can study healthily and safely. Different study programmes have facilities with regard to health promotion and injury prevention. In addition, the AHK offers training courses each year about how you can deal with study pressure, stress and fear of failure.
You can always contact the student counsellor, student coach or confidential adviser in order to look at your personal circumstances together.
More about student health and wellbeing
At the AHK, we devote a lot of attention to research and innovation. We believe that collaboration and social orientation are an important aspect of this, just like acquiring an inquisitive attitude through practice-based, social scientific and artistic research.
Each academy also has its own research group that conducts research. New knowledge is incorporated into the study programmes. In addition, they are involved in initiatives at the Marineterrein, in the Centre of Expertise Arts&Education and in educational programmes, such as Artists in Residence and ahk.nl/entrepreneurship. The AHK Research Centre supports the research groups.
More about research and innovation
Inspiration is something you draw from many places, not least from today’s artists. In order to bring you closer to them and their work, the AHK invites several Artists in Residence each year. They work for a specific period ‘in house’ with students and teachers on adventurous projects in which topical developments and issues from the arts practice are handled.
More about Artists in Residence
Arts and culture can play a major role in social issues, as creative professionals respond to social challenges based on their own creativity, and a critical and social awareness. You can also make a difference therein by developing your expertise and skills.
In the coming period, globalisation, digitisation, diversity, sustainability and cohesion in urban society will be important themes.
You will find inspiring examples of this among the graduation projects nominated for the AHK Graduation Prize.
Collaboration between different disciplines in the arts occurs very often. That is why it’s important to become acquainted with that during your study. We strongly encourage you therefore to collaborate with students from another academy and/or arts discipline. For example, there is a special fund where you can request a budget if you do a project with students from other academies.
In the Art & Society postgraduate program we offer selected alumni the opportunity to experiment together. They are given a workplace in the AHK Culture Club where they exchange knowledge and techniques.
More about Art & Society
Would you like to discover what is happening within your arts discipline abroad? The AHK offers you many opportunities to go abroad during your study or internship. The AHK has partnerships with schools and cultural institutions around the world. The internationalisation coordinator can help you search for a suitable foreign institution and funding for your trip.
More about going abroad
We strive towards an inclusive learning and work environment within the AHK, which forms the basis for quality, new ideas and creativity. In the inclusive environment that we envisage, you can be yourself completely and you are valued for everything that constitutes your identity. Not regardless of, but inclusive of, your gender, ethnicity, age, sexual orientation, functional disability and social, cultural and ideological background. Students and staff must feel welcome and seen at each level of the organisation, and be given the space to develop their talents.
More about our diversity policy
An entrepreneurial attitude and knowledge of entrepreneurship are essential to a successful career. That is why it is more than just a course within the curriculum at the AHK. You learn to set up your own professional practice in a sustainable manner, as an employer, self-employed professional or entrepreneur with a small or larger company. In our opinion, ‘successful entrepreneurship’ means that you can carry out your profession in a meaningful and profitable way, even if the labour or arts market changes.
During your study, you can receive extra training on entrepreneurship. We also like to maintain contact after you have graduated so we can offer you more training and coaching. Check out ahk.nl/entrepreneurship.
In addition, we maintain an online knowledge database that you can always visit. We delve deeper into all kinds of aspects of the business side of the professional practice. Check out BeroepKunstenaar.nl.
