Dear Graduating students of 2020 and all Rietveld Academie teachers,
It is our pleasure to announce the open call that the Student Support Group has organised for an auction event involving graduating students and teaching staff of 2020. This event is intended to contribute to a lasting support structure through the Berlage Fund for students in financial need within the Rietveld Academie, in collaboration with Dead Darlings.
We would like to invite all graduating students at the academy to participate in our auction:
Dead Darlings: The Show Must Go On
The event will be a fundraiser for (international) students in financial need, and a collaboration between the student support group and the Dead Darlings collective.
Proceeds after operating costs can be donated in their entirety, or the participant may choose to keep half if they need it too. Due to Covid-19, this will be an online auction. Submissions by graduates and teaching staff are all welcome.
All you need to do is choose a work that did not yet see the spotlight; something you already made and value, but for whatever reason did not make your ‘final cut’. In other words, a “dead darling” you killed but feel deserves a second chance ;-)
Here is what you need to submit:
- A high-res jpg of the submitted piece
- Title
- Size/Dimensions
- Material
- A short text with a story about the work (answer the question: why is this a dead darling?)
Submission deadline: 14th Aug. 2020
Delivery of artworks: 12th - 17th Aug. 2020
To: Reception desk Gerrit Rietveld Academie
Contact Person: Student Support group via studentsupport[at]rietveldacademie.nl
Click here to submit through Google Form!
‘Dead Darlings’ is an anonymous auction, the names of all participants will be listed, but only revealed in connection with the work after the final sale.
Looking forward to seeing your artworks!
Yours,
Student Support and Dead Darlings
Additional information
Who is the student support group?
The student support group was formed in 2019, based on the “Quality agreements”, with the aim of strengthening the position of the individual student in their personal well-being and their resilience as a precondition to productively engage with their education. We understand that due to the current circumstances, (international) students are in a precarious situation more than ever, especially regarding their financial status. We therefore wanted to create a reliable financial structure in which shows care and support for each other while your artworks also get the opportunity to be exposed to a broader public.
Who are Dead Darlings?
The very first Dead Darlings auction was launched in 2005 at the heels of a Rietveld Academy End Exam while standing at the brink of the infamous black hole...A group of graduating students, looking for a way to salvage essential and beautiful works that did not survive the scrutiny or fit the rigorous parameters of the final show, decided to create an opportunity to get together and urge people to offer up those ‘dead darlings’ for a show of their own; a kind of B-side of the exam show. These works can reveal a process and tell a story, with the charm of the underdog, treated less preciously by the makers, and in the spirit of inclusivity, offered up at low starting prices making art affordable to more members of our community.
What is a dead darling?
This refers to a work that an artist has created, yet for any variety of reasons, has not brought to light. The name Dead Darlings was inspired by the phrase “kill your darlings”, something that we were so often advised to do in art school and is an integral part of the artistic process.
What is the Berlage Fund?
The Berlagefonds is the school fund of the Gerrit Rietveld Academie. It supports students when they really need it. With this fund, the Academie finances extra endeavours and special investments and expenses that are not or only partly subsidised by the government. By finding ways to increase the contributions to the fund, the Academie is striving to increase the support that it can give to students.
Would you like to financially contribute to students at the Academie without taking part in the auction? Donations to the Berlagefonds are particularly welcome. You can transfer your contribution to: IBAN NL76 INGB 0656 9109 76, in the name of Berlagefonds, Amsterdam.