On 23 January 2025, the thirteenth edition of the AHK Graduation Prize was celebrated at the Academy of Theatre and Dance. The annual prize for the best graduation projects provides a platform to the new graduating class of talented creators. In 10 multifaceted pitches, the alumni presented their projects to the audience. Cas Schutte (Conservatorium van Amsterdam) was the winner in the Bachelor’s category for his project Vox Omnes. The prize in the Master’s category went to Martijn van Wijk (Academy of Architecture) for his project Island Encounters. The attendees voted for the performance LAST PARADISE, created by seven SNDO Choreography students (Academy of Theatre and Dance) as winner of the audience award.
Non-binary chamber choir
Cas Schutte, the winner in the Bachelor’s category, graduated from the Music in Education programme at the Conservatorium van Amsterdam with his project Vox Omnes. The jury was impressed by his example-setting approach. ‘Creator Cas Schutte set up a classical chamber choir without traditional voice types. With a fresh outlook, he questions the age-old traditions within classical music related to the theme of gender binary structures, in search of a different language. An innovative and unique project, and an extremely good first step towards establishing a non-binary attitude in classical music. A first step that is as relevant to music education as it is to the performing practice in classical music.
Respectful architecture
The winner of the Master’s category, Martijn van Wijk, graduated from the Master in Architecture at the Academy of Architecture with his design research Island Encounters. Martijn focuses on creating architecture without a predefined programme, thus allowing the location itself to guide the process. He explored the hidden layers of the Uilenburg neighbourhood in Amsterdam. Extract from the jury report: ‘Island Encounters is a poetic plan. Martijn begins with a good analysis and thorough research, and uses that in a meticulous manner. He seeks calm and asks questions, such as ‘What am I doing to do with this environment?’, ‘What are the stories?’ and ‘How do I make it as sustainable as possible?’ Martijn believes that we need to deal with our environment in a sensitive, respectful way. Looking at what already exists would seem to be obvious, but it is actually a totally innovative point of departure in the construction industry.’
Audience award
The audience award was determined by the attendees during the event. The prize was presented to a group of seven students from SNDO Choreography. Agne Auželyte, Barros, Saman Mahdavi, Ciro Goudsmit, Sasu Korom, YuJing Liu and La Uyi Ihasee together created the performance LAST PARADISE - ‘a mythical and kaleidoscopic durational journey through paradise’.
Criteria and jury
The Graduation Prize of the Amsterdam University of the Arts consists of a cash prize of €2,000 in the Bachelor’s and Master’s categories, and an audience award worth €500.
Four Bachelor’s projects and six Master’s projects from the different academies were nominated. The jury assessed all entries on the basis of three criteria: the quality of the work, the way in which the graduates made a connection with the outside world and the relevance of their work for the development of the field.
The jury consisted of Liesbeth Kok (chair), Merel Pit, Carmen Lamptey, Doreen Boonekamp and Henk Pijlman.
Check out the nominated projects for the AHK Graduation Prize