Piet Zwart Institute
P.O. Box 1272
3000 BG Rotterdam
The Netherlands
The Piet Zwart Institute houses the international Master programmes of the Willem de Kooning Academy at Hogeschool Rotterdam. Named after the pioneering Dutch designer Piet Zwart, who worked experimentally across different media and contexts, our institute offers a rich combination of in-depth specialisation and interdisciplinary exchange in an intimate learning environment.
The programmes of the Piet Zwart Institute are located in the heart of Rotterdam’s city centre. While students and faculty come from across the globe, bringing with them a variety of cultural influences, there are also strong connections to the city, its complex history and dynamic urban environment.
We have four Master programmes:
Fine Art, Interior Architecture & Retail Design, Media Design and Communication, and Education in Arts
All are founded on a shared interest in the complex social, cultural and political underpinnings of each discipline. Through a uniquely tailored curriculum combining collective learning, intensive individual tutorial support, practice-based research and theoretical inquiry, our programmes educate young professionals who have a critically reflective and imaginative approach to their work.
As an educational institute, the notion of “making public” is core to our activities. These public moments are an important resource for students, faculty members and guests, serving as a bridge to the city, a framework for exploring timely and relevant issues, and building a community around areas of interests. Exhibitions, symposia, conferences and publications expand our research beyond the confines of academia, while simultaneously valuing the very necessary speculative space for reflection and knowledge building that is only made possible through the rigorous academic framework of the Piet Zwart Institute.
Teaching staff Fine Art: Vivian Sky Rehberg (Course Director, critic), Liesbeth Bik (artist), Kate Briggs (translator, writer), Bernd Krauß (artist), Steve Rushton (writer, artist), Jan Verwoert (theorist, critic), Katarina Zdjelar (artist)
Media Design and Communication: Simon Pummell (Course Director, filmmaker, Research Professor), André Castro (media artist), Annet Dekker (curator, writer, technology, media), David Haines (artist, drawing, video), Aymeric Mansoux (Research Professor, code, art, politics, free culture), Michael Murtaugh (designer, computer programmer), Steve Rushton (writer, artist), Barend Onneweer (visual effects and animation artist)
Interior Architecture and Retail Design: Alex Suárez (Course Director, architect), Max Bruinsma (writer, editorial design), Daphne Heemskerk (graphic designer), Laura Lynn Jansen (designer), Edwin Larkens (architect), Gabriel Lester (artist), Olivier Otten (interaction designer), Catherine Somzé (art historian, critic), Marta M Roy Torrecilla (architect), Füsun Türetken (architect), Thomas Vailly (designer), Martine Vledder (architect)
Education in Arts: Ingrid Commandeur (Course Director, educator, researcher), Kate Brehme (museum education, informal education), Clare Butcher (higher art education; curatorial strategies in art and education), Elisabeth Clement (design education), Elizabeth Graham (curating, research in art and museum education), Marike Hoekstra (secondary art education, research methodologies, pedagogy), Prof. Dr. Frans-Willem Korsten (pedagogy, critical theory, Professor at LUCAS), Levien Nordeman (digital didactics, media studies), Sjoerd Westbroek (education, teacher training, philosophy), and a wide variety of guest tutors.
Apply to the Piet Zwart Institute
Priority deadline: February 1, 2016 (international and EU applicants)
Second deadline: March 1, 2016 (international and EU applicants)
Final deadline: May 15, 2016 (EU applicants only)
