WORKING PERIOD
A working period at De Ateliers lasts two years. The working year start September 1st and ends August 31st. During these two years, participants work in a private studio in De Ateliers’ monumental building in central Amsterdam. The studios are light, high and very spacious, measuring between seventy and one hundred square meters each. This makes them particularly suitable for material practices and large-scale work. Participants have access to their studios 24/7, setting their own working hours.
TUESDAY STUDIO VISIT PROGRAMME
Central to De Ateliers’ institutional programme are weekly individual studio visits by tutor artists. Studio visits take place during two semesters (September-December, January-May) every Tuesday. All tutor artists and visiting guests are able to engage in dialogue with all participants, regardless of their respective artistic position, medium or discipline. In addition to the visits of regular tutor artists, who visit De Ateliers on average twice a month, guest tutors are invited to do studio visits. Some guest tutors visit De Ateliers incidentally, others more than once. Participants are expected to be present in their studios on Tuesdays during the working year as often as possible. In addition to the studio visit Tuesdays, De Ateliers offers facultative seminars and field trips to exhibitions and other relevant places.
WORKSHOPS AND LIBRARY
De Ateliers houses several workshops for wood, metal, and synthetics, a sound proof studio for video editing and sound recording, and a dark room for analogue photography. These workshops are supervised by two technicians who are available for technical guidance. De Ateliers also offers an art and theory book library. In addition to these in-house facilities, De Ateliers collaborates with a variety of cultural and other institutions in Amsterdam and beyond, offering participants access to knowledge and productional support structures in different areas of specialized expertise.
COMMUNITY
De Ateliers is a small–scale institution, with around twenty participants (ten first years, ten second years) working at any given time. It has a small administration and staff (currently a total of around 5 FTE) that is responsible for day-to-day operations. During their time at De Ateliers, participants are part of an international community of artists with a wide variety of cultural and artistic backgrounds, dedicated to the development of their individual studio practice. Self-motivation and self-organization are important aspects at De Ateliers – alongside individual studio work the informal exchange of ideas and artistic collaboration are a natural part of the institutional dynamic.
PUBLIC EVENTS, ARTIST TALKS AND EXHIBITIONS
During the working year, De Ateliers organizes public activities like exhibitions, perfomances, screenings and talks. Every spring and fall, a series of well attended public artist talks is presented. Since 2006, every year an exhibition is organized under the moniker ‘Offspring’ in which second year participants present work developed during their time at De Ateliers. Offspring is organized by a different exhibition advisor year, and is accompanied by a catalogue and public programmes and events. It has become an eagerly anticipated event on the contemporary art calendar in the Netherlands and abroad, attracting a large audience of art professionals and enthusiasts alike.
For updates on forthcoming exhibitions and activities, please check the agenda. Please consult the archive for past exhibitions, artist talks and activities.
HOUSING
In collaboration with housing cooperative Ymere and stichting Oude Kerk, De Ateliers has seven rent controlled apartments with a total of seventeen rooms available in Amsterdam. Rooms are offered first to participants coming from abroad and secondly to participants already living in the Netherlands. Rooms are rented out by lease agreement. The use of the room is strictly limited to the working period at De Ateliers. When the working period is concluded, the lease agreement ends. The average rent per room is € 550 per month, which is considered to be very affordable in the Amsterdam housing market. When renting a room from De Ateliers, the rent is deducted from the stipend offered by De Ateliers. De Ateliers does not make a profit from renting out the apartments.
STIPEND AND COSTS
Each De Ateliers participant receives a yearly stipend. The stipend is financed by the Ateliers Support Fund and the Ministry of Education, Culture and Science. The stipend for the working year 2024-2025 is €15.864 and provides a basis towards covering living expenses. In addition to the stipend, for the period 2024-2025, De Ateliers is able to offer a yearly production grant of €2.000 to each participant in collaboration with Ammodo Foundation. The aim of the stipend and grant is for participants to be able to fully concentrate on their studio practice during their time at De Ateliers.
Participation also comes with expenses. The participation fee for 2024-2025 is €3.000. This amount is deducted from the stipend. Being dependent on fluctuating subsidies and donations, De Ateliers stimulates and supports participants in fundraising efforts, for instance in their country of origin, to help cover the costs of the stipend.
Example of stipend vs living expenses
€15.864 (stipend) – €3.000 (participation fee) = €12.864
€12.864 (remaining stipend) / 12 (months per year) = €1.072
Below you can find a calculation by the Nibud of the costs of a student:
https://www.nibud.nl/consumenten/wat-kost-studeren/
RESIDENCE PERMITS FOR PARTICIPANTS FROM OUTSIDE THE EU
When a participant from outside the EU starts the two-year working period at De Ateliers, De Ateliers (as certified institutional sponsor) will apply for a residence permit at the Immigration and Naturalisation Service. This residence permit is a student visa and will be valid for the duration of the working period. De Ateliers provides in the costs for the visa.