Rietveld Carte Blanche
Rietveld Carte Blanche is an annual exhibition that transforms Loods6—one of Amsterdam's leading exhibition venues for emerging contemporary artists—into a platform for experimentation, dialogue, and public presentation. Bringing together students from the Ceramics, Photography, and DesignLAB departments, the exhibition has grown from a one-time initiative in 2024 into an integral part of the Gerrit Rietveld Academie's curriculum.
Within Ceramic department, all three Bachelor years exhibit together in a shared space. Rather than presenting isolated projects, the exhibition creates an environment where works enter into conversation with one another across different years, methodologies, and stages of artistic development. Students experience firsthand how individual works change in meaning when placed in relation to others and how an exhibition itself becomes a medium for artistic expression.
The exhibition is the culmination of an intensive learning process. Throughout the academic year, students investigate exhibition-making through dedicated courses, group critiques, and individual coaching sessions. Together they develop the exhibition concept, discuss spatial relationships, test display strategies, and collectively shape the final presentation. Carte Blanche offers a unique opportunity to experiment, take risks, and present work to a broad public audience for the first time.
Each Bachelor year contributes from a distinct artistic position. First-year Ceramics students present their life-size sculptures, marking an important moment in which scale, material, and spatial awareness come together. Second-year students focus on developing and exhibiting their individual artistic practices, refining their own visual language within a professional exhibition context. Third-year students use the exhibition as a testing ground for their graduation projects, experimenting with installation, presentation, and the relationship between artwork and audience before entering their final graduation year.
Beyond artistic development, Carte Blanche functions as a professional learning environment. Students gain practical experience in every stage of exhibition production: planning and scheduling, safely packing and transporting artworks, installing work within an open exhibition space, collaborating across disciplines, and presenting their practice to visitors. They take ownership of the entire process—from concept and production to installation and public engagement—developing the skills required for a sustainable professional practice after graduation.
What emerges is more than an exhibition. Carte Blanche is a collaborative ecosystem where artistic research, experimentation, and professional practice converge. It reflects the Gerrit Rietveld Academie's commitment to learning through making, critical exchange, and collective authorship, while offering students the confidence and experience to step into the wider field of contemporary art.
students on show: Xinyu Chen, Lulu Dellensen, Karolina Göthberg, Ida Heyde, Mila Meijer, Oliver Nissen, Jens Normann, Ditte Bollerup, Reyhoon Jahani, Ryan Lopes Dutra de Faria, Katinka Olrik, Dijntje Beau Bijvank, Carmo Branco Azevedo E Menezes, Ida-Simone Brerup, Linda Zimmermann, Freja Oline Østergaard
more info LOODS 6 : https://loods6.nl/agenda/gerrit-rietveld-academie
