About Studium Generale

Studium Generale Rietveld Academie is a programme of the Gerrit Rietveld Academie in Amsterdam. It encourages independent thinking and making by allowing knowledge, reflection and imagination to interact with each other in unorthodox and experimental ways. The programme emphatically tries not to be guided by fixed canons or preconceived cultural and social views. Every year it follows a transdisciplinary research trajectory around an urgent theme that relates to current affairs, issues and discussions in the (art) world. Artists, theorists, scientists, activists and cultural workers from home and abroad offer a broad spectrum of perspectives on the overarching themes through lectures, performances, presentations and screenings.

After a preliminary programme with and for students of all departments, including film screenings, reading groups, workshops, walks and publications, there is an annual four-day conference festival in collaboration with guest curators, who bring us into contact with urgent critical discourses from different interests, views and practices. Since some years this takes place in the Stedelijk Museum Amsterdam and is open to the public.

Studium Generale has been working with Rietveld Uncut since 2014; every year, departments and individual students develop projects related to the theoretical framework of Studium Generale. The presentation and exhibition of these projects is concurrent with the conference and brings together ‘making and thinking’.

Studium Generale Rietveld Academie is led by Jorinde Seijdel (Head of Programme) with Jort van der Laan (Coordinator). For the content and organization they work together with many others inside and outside the academy.