Call for Applications – Rijksakademie Residency 2024/2025
Between 1 September and 1 October 2023, interested artists can apply for the Rijksakademie residency that starts September 2024.
Application deadline: 1 October (23:59 hours CET), 2023
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 developing and challenging yourself, to working alongside positions that are vastly different from your own, and being part of a community. 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 2024 – August 2025, 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 hours CET] and 1 October [23:59 hours CET], 2023
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:
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 2023/24 were: Ansuya Blom, Banu Cennetoğlu, Isabelle Cornaro, Yael Davids, Erin Gleeson, Anawana Haloba, Metahaven (Daniel van der Velden and Vinca Kruk), Antonio Vega Macotela, Mihnea Mircan, Melvin Moti, Wendelien van Oldenborgh, Christodoulos Panayiotou, María Inés Rodríguez, Natasha Soobramanien, Ho Tzu Nyen and Helen Verhoeven.
The pre-selection and main selection rounds will take place in November and December 2023. The interviews will take place in February 2024.
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.
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:
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 €14,000, 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
For each artist who is admitted into the programme the Rijksakademie must raise a fellowship, which covers 1/3 of the cost of having the artist in residence.
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 1/3 of the cost of the residency, which includes 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 €16,500 a year.
This means that each artist who is offered a residency place at the Rijksakademie has an obligation to help the Rijksakademie to find a fellowship, as one of the conditions of joining the residency. If the fellowship is found by the artist, and paid directly to them, the funds must be transferred to the Rijksakademie. We understand that some resident artists find it difficult to secure a fellowship, 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 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 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.
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 social media for the latest news. It is also possible to visit the Rijksakademie library every Tuesday-Thursday between 10:00-17:00 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, 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.
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.