To coincide with the 60th anniversary of De Ateliers, a new book about the illustrious history has been produced. De Ateliers 1963-2023. History of an artists’ institute is compiled and written by Dominic van den Boogerd, who has been involved with De Ateliers since 1995 as director (until 2018) and coordinator of artistic and art historical guidance.
De Ateliers, formerly known as Ateliers ’63, is the first post-academic art institute in the Netherlands. This artists’ initiative from Haarlem started 60 years ago as a unique experiment. Under the inspiring leadership of artists such as Wessel Couzijn, Edgar Fernhout, Carel Visser, Jan Dibbets, stanley brouwn and Marlene Dumas, it grew into an internationally acclaimed institution that would radically change the art education in the Netherlands.
Looking back at the first decades, Dominic van den Boogerd explains how avant-garde artists in the 1960s and 1970s turned their backs on the academy and took talent development into their own hands. That did not go without a hitch, the turbulent history of De Ateliers is one of passionate ideals and fierce rivalry. The essay, based on interviews with those involved from the very beginning and richly illustrated with never before published photos and archive documents, is followed by a chronological overview of supervisors, participants, lectures and exhibitions. The third and last part of the book, designed by Sabo Day, reports on a contemporary discussion among De Ateliers tutors about art and education today.
Both the English and the Dutch version of the book will be available here.
This book was made possible with the support of the Jaap Harten Fonds.
