Apply

The deadline to apply for the 2023–2024 residency has passed. You can no longer apply.

Between 1 September – 1 October 2022, interested artists can apply for the Rijksakademie residency that starts September 2023.

Application deadline:
1 October (23:59 hours CET)

Residency 2023–2024

The Rijksakademie welcomes applications from artists to develop their work over one or two-year periods in Amsterdam.

The Rijksakademie houses a highly international, multi-disciplinary, experimental and critically engaged artist community. Residents are supported with a studio, a work budget and a stipend and benefit from an array of opportunities for exchange, including peer to peer dialogue and visits from a wide range of leading art professionals. They have access to technical workshops as well as an extensive library and a historical collection. There is guidance by technical specialists, who foster hands-on, innovative and collaborative approaches to making.

We offer residencies with the goal of providing space for research, reflection, experiment and exchange. Every year we select on average 22 artists for a residency, and most of the artists stay for two years, so the total community consists of about 45 artists. Half of the group is from the Netherlands, the other half from all around the world.

As an artist, you are ready to make the most of these resources. You are open to challenging yourself, and to working alongside positions that are vastly different from your own. Spending up to two years in residence, you enter into an open-ended process where you can deepen your practices, and explore new territories, in and beyond the art field.

We are seeking residents for the period September 2023 – August 2024, with the possibility of staying one year more. You can apply by completing the online application form on our website between 1 September [00:00 uur CET] and 1 October [23:59 uur CET], 2022

Jury Process

Because of the high number of applications, the jury process takes several months and happens in many different rounds. All applications are seen by the jury at least one time.

These are the different steps:

  • After the deadline all applications will be checked administratively whether they are complete. If the documentation has not been uploaded properly, we will get in touch with the applicant to make sure the application will be complete before the jury process starts. Incomplete applications won’t be taken into consideration.
  • The Rijksakademie selects on average 22 artists every year: half of them come from the Netherlands, the other half from all other countries. Artists from The Netherlands have Dutch nationality or they are (or have been) living and working in the Netherlands for at least two years. There will be different juries for the International and the Dutch jury rounds.
  • Both the International as the Dutch jury processes consist of a pre-selection round, a main selection round and interviews as the final stage.
  • In the pre-selection round the jury focusses mainly on the visual documentation (uploaded portfolio). Based on the portfolio, the application will go to the next round, or not. In this phase about two thirds of the applications will be leaving the process. More than one jury member needs to support the application to go to the next round.
  • In the main selection rounds the jury will spend more time with every application and there is more time to look at additional information (written texts, motivation). Jury members then discuss which candidates they would like to meet for an interview.
  • Approximately 35 candidates from the Netherlands and 35 international candidates will be invited for an interview with the jury, either online or at the Rijksakademie. From all interview candidates approximately one third will be invited for the residency.
  • During all rounds, the jury is looking for diversity in the community, both in practice as well as in the personal backgrounds of the candidates.

Composition of the jury

Every year we compose different juries: for the Dutch and International jury processes, and also throughout the different jury rounds. All juries are highly diverse, bringing together jury members with different backgrounds, different ways of working, different relations to the Rijksakademie and different levels of experience with our process. Most of the jury members are artists.

The jury members in the different rounds for the residency 2022/23 were: Ansuya Blom, Banu Cennetoğlu, Xinyi Cheng, Isabelle Cornaro, Femke Herregraven, Jaki Irvine, Sung Hwan Kim, Melvin Moti, Mike Nelson, Wendelien van Oldenborgh, Christodoulos Panayiotou, María Inés Rodríguez, Antonio Vega Macotela and Helen Verhoeven.

The pre-selection and main selection rounds will take place in November and December 2022. The interviews will take place in January and February 2023.

Important information before you start the application

Please read this information before you start your application. If you have any further questions regarding your application or the residency, check our FAQ section below or send an email to: application@rijksakademie.nl.

    • The Rijksakademie residency is open to visual artists from all countries and all disciplines.
    • A residency at the Rijksakademie is intended for artists who want to focus for a longer period on questioning and challenging their work, on opening up their practice and thinking and who want to participate in and contribute to the residency in an active way, by engaging with peers and advisors in the Rijksakademie.
    • Selected artists have usually finished a BA or a BA and MA education but there is no prerequisite to have undertaken a formal art education.
    • Applicants that have finished a BA or BA and MA education must have finished their education at least 2 years before applying and have had at least 2-3 years of independent professional practice before starting a residency at the Rijksakademie. Applicants that haven't finished a BA or BA and MA education must also have at least 2-3 years of independent professional practice before starting a residency at the Rijksakademie.
    • The application procedure for the Rijksakademie is not open to artists who are doing a residency / have done a residency at one of the other Dutch post-academic institutions, the Jan van Eyck Academy (Maastricht) or De Ateliers (Amsterdam).
    • Please note that you cannot apply more than three times for a residency at the Rijksakademie, starting from the application for the residency 2021.
    • You have an outstanding position in the field you are working in. This must be visible in the uploaded portfolio, which is the most important element of the jury process (uploaded texts play a less important role!). Please try to make sure that your portfolio gives us a clear idea about the content and formal aspects of your practice.  
    • You have enough (independent) working experience (after education) to benefit from the critical environment at the Rijksakademie, but not too much experience that a residency cannot really add much apart from practical support and production facilities. 
    • You have a clear idea about how you would like to use the residency (what do you need/what do you bring) and why that is important for you now?
    • Having one- or two-years of time and space, facilities and feedback in an international and diverse artist community is a unique opportunity which can be a transformative experience for your work and thinking. You are willing and able to commit actively and full-time: to your own work but also to the highly diverse community of voices from all around the world you are part of.

  • There are no formal age restrictions for an application to the Rijksakademie, although most applicants are between 26 and 35 years old. The average age of the artists at the Rijksakademie is 30.

    We recommend artists under 26 years old to wait some years before applying for a residency. Artists of 36 years and older can apply, but we advise them to clearly explain why it is important to come to the Rijksakademie at this moment in their development.

  • As the Rijksakademie offers an international residency programme, it is important that you understand and speak English, but our applicants don't need a IELTS or TOEFL test.

  • The Rijksakademie provides time, people and possibilities. Apart from facilities such as a studio, work budget and stipend, there are extensive technical facilities, a library and collections and a social practice workshop.

    We offer:

    • A private studio including wireless internet/heating/electricity
    • A stipend €15,000 (in 2022)
    • A working budget of €1,500 per year, for the largest part provided by RAEF (Rijksakademie Artists Endowment Fund)
    • Access to artistic/technical/theoretical advice, support and facilities
    • Exchange and collaboration within an international community
    • Lunch and dinner for subsidised prices in our Cantina (Rijksakademie restaurant)
    • Support with visa process in the Netherlands and access to modest, but affordable housing in Amsterdam for international artists

  • APPLICATION FEE
    A non-refundable application fee of €50 is charged, with an exception for artists living in countries from the so-called DAC List (2020-2023). The DAC is the Development Assistance Committee of the OECD, established in 1961.

    PARTICIPATION FEE
    Each selected resident artist must pay an annual participation fee. The participation fee for all resident artists is €1,875 each year, to be paid before the residency year starts. In some cases, it is possible to find additional funding or a sponsor for this. More information is provided after an artist is selected for the residency.

    STIPEND
    Every selected resident artist will receive a stipend of €15,000, to be paid in monthly installments. Please be aware the stipend provides for a very basic standard of living for one person in Amsterdam.

    FELLOWSHIP
    The Rijksakademie is generously supported by the Dutch government, but we have to fundraise for 1/3 of our annual income. For the 1/3 of fundraised income the Rijksakademie depends on private and public funding, which includes finding fellowships. A fellowship covers the cost of the stipend that every resident artist receives during the residency.

    In order to raise the necessary funds to make up our annual budget, the Rijksakademie requires the assistance of all resident artists to contribute to their residency by helping us to raise a fellowship of €15,000 a year.

    This means that in the offer of a residency place at the Rijksakademie an effort obligation is required by each resident artist towards the Rijksakademie, to be fulfilled by helping the Rijksakademie to find a fellowship. If the fellowship is found by the artist, and paid directly to them, the funds must be transferred to the Rijksakademie. Some resident artists find it difficult to secure a fellowship, and we understand that this is not an even playing field, and that it may not be possible. This will not affect your place at the Rijksakademie, but we ask for effort, and proof of this by providing several declined applications to give proof of your genuine effort.

    In the case that you are invited for an interview (which is the last stage of the selection procedure), you will receive more information about the fellowship.

    Being selected/admitted to the Rijksakademie does not depend on whether you can or will obtain a fellowship. The Rijksakademie Trust Fund will contact the invited artists soon after being selected, to offer help and give you advice on applications for fellowships and funding.

Frequently Asked Questions

If you have any further questions regarding your application or the residency, send an email to: application@rijksakademie.nl.

  • We welcome applications from artist duos or collectives for a residency at the Rijksakademie. If you are working as a duo/collective and would like to continue working together in the future you can apply with one application.

    If you work as a duo or collective at the moment, but you are not sure if you want to keep working together in the future you each have to submit your individual applications.

    When adding information in the application form about education or residency experiences, please do so for each member. You can upload a CV of each member of your duo/collective.

    Please provide more information about your collaboration in the section: Supporting Statement (for example: how do you work together, who does what, how do you see your future working together).

    If you are selected for the residency as a duo, both members will receive a stipend and work budget. If you are selected as a (larger) collective, we will discuss with you about what the Rijksakademie can offer.

  • The Rijksakademie does not work with disciplines or departments. However, on the registration page of the application portal we ask you to choose a discipline/area in which you would like to apply.

    You can choose between:
    -Painting/Graphics/Drawing
    -Sculpture/Installation
    -Video/Film/Sound/Digital/Photography
    -Performance/Social Practice

    Dividing the applications in disciplines is just a tool for the application and admissions team to process all the applications. As a resident of the Rijksakademie you will be free to work in all/ with any disciplines.

  • Due to the high number of applications, we unfortunately can’t provide individual tours or meetings for applicants.

    Of course we are happy to answer your questions through email: application@rijksakademie.nl, through the Communication Inbox on the homepage of the application form or after calling us at +31(0)20-5270300.

    You can visit the Rijksakademie, the studios and workshops during our annual Rijksakademie Open Studios that takes place in spring. We do host other public events, please check our website or Facebook page for the latest news. It is also possible to visit the Rijksakademie library every Wednesday-Friday between 11:00-17:00 hours.

  • Due to the high number of applications, you can not apply more than 3 times for a residency at the Rijksakademie (starting from the selection process for 2021).

    If you already applied before, you still have to fill out a new application form. You can use the same email address as you used previously. When you fill in your email address and password, a new registration page will pop up. When you do not remember your password, please click ‘Forgot password?’ to receive a new password to make a new registration. Once you have registered, you can start to complete the application form. Please make sure to include works the jury hasn’t seen before.

  • We want all artists to have equal access to participating in the residency, after the jury has invited them. Therefore, every artist in the Rijksakademie will receive the same stipend
    which is a basic income to live from. Residents need to actively collaborate to find a fellowship to cover the costs of the stipend. Artists from economically weaker regions who are not able to raise a fellowship will receive a guaranteed stipend. More information about the stipend/raising a fellowship will be provided to candidates in the last phase of the jury process.

    Applicants from countries on the so-called DAC List do not have to pay the application fee of €50.

  • A non-refundable application fee of €50 is charged, with an exception for artists living in the following countries:

    Afghanistan, Albania, Algeria, Angola, Antigua and Barbuda, Argentina, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Bangladesh, Belarus, Belize, Benin, Bhutan, Bolivia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Botswana, Brazil, Burkina Faso, Burundi, Cabo Verde, Cambodia, Cameroon, Central African Republic, Chad, China, Colombia, Comoros, Congo, Costa Rica, Côte d'Ivoire, Cuba, Democratic People's Republic of Korea, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Djibouti, Dominica, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, Egypt, El Salvador, Equatorial Guinea, Eritrea, Eswatini, Ethiopia, Fiji, Gabon, Gambia, Georgia, Ghana, Grenada, Guatemala, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Guyana, Haiti, Honduras, India, Indonesia, Iran, Iraq, Jamaica, Jordan, Kazakhstan, Kenya, Kiribati, Kosovo, Kyrgyzstan, Lao People's Democratic Republic, Lebanon, Lesotho, Liberia, Libya, Madagascar, Malawi, Malaysia, Maldives, Mali, Marshall Islands, Mauritania, Mauritius, Mexico, Micronesia, Moldova, Mongolia, Montenegro, Montserrat, Morocco, Mozambique, Myanmar, Namibia, Nauru, Nepal, Nicaragua, Niger, Nigeria, Niue, North Macedonia, Pakistan, Palau, Panama, Papua New Guinea, Paraguay, Peru, Philippines, Rwanda, Saint Helena, Saint Lucia, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Samoa, Sao Tome and Principe, Senegal, Serbia, Sierra Leone, Solomon Islands, Somalia, South Africa, South Sudan, Sri Lanka, Sudan, Suriname, Syrian Arab Republic, Tajikistan, Tanzania, Thailand, Timor-Leste, Togo, Tokelau, Tonga, Tunisia, Turkey, Turkmenistan, Tuvalu, Uganda, Ukraine, Uzbekistan, Vanuatu, Venezuela, Viet Nam, Wallis and Futuna, West Bank and Gaza Strip, Yemen, Zambia, Zimbabwe.*

    * These are the countries from the so-called DAC-list (2020-2023). The DAC is the Development Assistance Committee of the OECD, established in 1961.

  • The Rijksakademie unfortunately cannot support a residence permit or financial help for partners and/or families. This means you will have to provide for your partner and family yourself. Please be aware the stipend provides for a very basic standard of living for one person in Amsterdam. Also, if you are not an EU citizen you are not allowed to work in the Netherlands in order to raise some extra money.

    The housing situation in Amsterdam is very difficult. Housing is very hard to find, small and expensive. Most of the apartments the Rijksakademie can offer to international artists are suitable for one person. We have very limited opportunities for (family) housing.

    After being selected for the Rijksakademie, we will of course help you to find the best solution for your personal situation.

  • We realise paying the participation fee is not easy for everyone, however it is a condition for participating in the residency. In some cases it is possible to find a sponsor or other financial support for this. After you have been selected, we will be in touch with you to
    advice you on this.

Residency

The Rijksakademie offers a two-year international residency programme to around fifty artists that provides space for research, experiment and production of new work.

Residents are supported with a studio, a work budget and a stipend and can seek advice from leading art professionals from a wide variety of cultural and creative backgrounds. In addition there is a rich research and production infrastructure, consisting of various technical workshops operated by specialists, a library and a historical and contemporary art collection.

Within the interdisciplinary environment of the Rijksakademie there is complete freedom in research and working methods.

Workshops

The technical workshops at the Rijksakademie have been a site of innovation and experimentation for decades. Led by specialists who work closely together with the residents, the workshops facilitate the exchange of expertise and create the possibility of interdisciplinary projects involving both new and traditional materials and techniques.

Facilities

In addition to the technical workshops, the Rijksakademie provides the residents with a number of other practical facilities such as several project spaces, a performance studio, a kitchen and a vegetable garden.