In the Basicyear you will be placed in a group with a fixed team of teachers. One of these teachers is your mentor, who will oversee your overall development during the course of the year. The weekly programme of the Basicyear consists of five subjects that take a whole or half a day. This core programme is supplemented with lectures, visits to cultural institutions, and projects. Occasionally we exchange this regular (and group related) programme for collective activities and projects.
The approach of the subjects of the core programme (drawing & painting, sculpture, mixed media, design and art-theory) is open. The subjects can be seen as broad frameworks that are filled in by the teacher in collaboration with each group in a slightly different manner. A characteristic of all classes is ‘learning by doing’. Next to this there is room for reflection, collectively and individually, and more specifically during the mixed media class. This class takes the whole day and the teacher is your mentor. In the Basicyear you work with assignments. The purpose of these assignments is to offer you a starting point and to encourage you to use your talents in the most concentrated and focused way possible.
Propaedeutic and after
Study-results are tested twice a year on the basis of a presentation of your work. For the theoretical part of the study programme you will have to write an essay. At the end of the Basicyear, you and your teachers will determine whether a sufficient foundation has been laid to pursue the study programme. Sometimes students will be advised to retake the Basicyear. Students may also sometimes be given the binding advice to discontinue the study programme. Occasionally, students may be encouraged to switch to an academy that emphases different subjects.
In order to be able to make a well-founded choice of specialisation, you will be introduced to the different departments and workshops in the course of the year.