Call for applications:
Amsterdam Art Week x Rietveld Alumni
i.c.w. Waterschap Amstel, Gooi & Vecht
Rietveld Academie (Public & Projects) collaborates with Volkshotel to present 10 alums during Amsterdam Art Week from Friday 20 until Sunday 22 November 2026. The exhibition is supported by Waterschap Amstel, Gooi en Vecht.
Practical information in short
- Who can apply: Rietveld alums graduated in 2024, 2025 and 2026
- What: Existing work connected to the theme
- When: The exhibition runs from Friday 20 until Sunday 22 November
- Where: Volkshotel
- Theme: WATER
Deadline Open Call: 18 October
Send to: projects@rietveldacademie.nl attn. Vere van Hal, please include in the title of your email Amsterdam Art Week 2026.
Theme: WATER
We invite alums who graduated in 2024, 2025 and 2026 to apply for Amsterdam Art Week 2026 with projects that engage with the theme of WATER. WATER can be interpreted in many ways, and we are curious to see how you connect your work to it. WATER awareness goes beyond simply knowing about WATER. WATER touches on identity, justice, history, climate change, biodiversity, the landscape, health, housing and the relationship between people and nature. WATER is therefore not a narrowly defined subject, but a lens through which social issues can be examined. It deals with drought, urban heat, inequality, migration, lost water landscapes, or the future of our living environment. We look forward to your proposals and hope for a rich variety of projects that reflect the diverse perspectives and practices of the Rietveld Academie.
Partners
Volkshotel is a place where there’s life 24/7 and creativity flows. In Volkshotel, locals and travellers gather to eat, drink, work, sleep and play. With Werkplaats (café & co-working spaces), Doka (nightly basement soundbar), Canvas (restaurant on the 7th floor), Broedplaats VKG (85 work spaces for creative minds) and 216 hotel rooms, this former newspaper building is more than just a place for tourists to sleep.
Stichting Amsterdam Art promotes and connects Amsterdam's contemporary art institutions and artists to strengthen the city's artistic ecosystem and make it accessible to local and international audiences. Since 2011, Amsterdam Art Week strengthens and transforms the city into a meeting hub for (inter)national artists, art lovers, professionals and collectors. Upcoming edition of Amsterdam Art Week 2026 takes place from 18 to 22 November 2026.
Waterschap Amstel, Gooi en Vecht is one of 21 regional water authories in the Netherlands. They manage the water in the Netherlands to prevent floods and make sure there is just the right amount of water for agriculture, urban living and other purposes. Waterschap Amstel, Gooi en Vecht is situated in the provinces of North Holland, Utrecht and a small part of South Holland. They support this project because they want to offer young artists a platform and are keen to hear their perspectives on water and our living environment, also because these artists belong to the generation that will feel the effects of climate change, urbanisation and changes to the natural world most acutely.
What we can offer
- Presenting your work together with 10 other (selected) Rietveld alums during Amsterdam Art Week
- An exhibition space of 164m2 in total called 'Riet' at Volkshotel during during Amsterdam Art Week
- A fee of 200 euros (excl. VAT) per artist
- Guidance and support (to a reasonable extent) by the curators, Jeroen Kramer and Anna Jensen and Vere van Hal (Public & Projects)
- Nametags, signage and a floorplan on location
- (General) PR by Amsterdam Art Week
- PR by Rietveld Academie specially focused on all participating artists
- Artists may also offer the displayed works for sale. Please note that if you sell an artwork during Amsterdam Art Week, the proceeds are 100% yours.
What the artists need to arrange themselves and what is expected from you
- Required equipment
- Transport to and from the exhibition at Volkshotel
- Artists are themselves responsible for the construction and dismantling of their work at the designated location and time
- It is expected that the artists will provide material (images, information) for use in the PR campaign prior to the exhibition
- The (selected) artwork should have a connection to the theme WATER
- You are responsible for the potential sales of the work.
Please keep in mind the artists do not have to always be present during Amsterdam Art Week, but the more often, the better.
Please note that workshops at the Rietveld Academie cannot be used in preparation for Amsterdam Art Week.
We would like to receive the following from you for your application:
We ask you to propose one work that you choose to present during Amsterdam Art Week that connects to the theme WATER. Please read carefully:
- General information about yourself (name, graduation year, department)
- Short motivation (max. 100 words)
- A short explanation about the theme WATER connected to your artwork (max. 100 words)
- Why you would like to participate in Amsterdam Art Week (max. 50 words)
- What you expect to get out of it (max. 50 words)
- Portfolio, max. 7 pages.
- 3 photos of the proposed artwork, (plus dimensions of the work)
- Title of the artwork you would like to present
- A description of the artwork (max. 80 words. The description will be used for our socials)
- Material of the artwork
- An estimation of the square meters you would need, if you need specifically walls and/or floor space and how you are planning to install the artwork
- A summary of the equipment you will be using (equipment needs to be arranged by yourselves)
Selection committee
After the deadline the selection committee will dive into all applications and select 10 artworks. The selection committee consists of:
- Lotte Wolfs (advisor education and visual arts, Waterschap Amstel, Gooi en Vecht)
- Jeroen Kramer (curator of the exhibition and head of Basicyear, Rietveld Academie)
- Anna Jensen (curator of the exhibition and head of designLAB, Rietveld Academie)
- Vere van Hal (Public & Projects, Rietveld Academie)
Timeframe
- Thursday 24 September: Launch Open Call
- Sunday 18 October: Deadline Call for applications
- 19-22 October: Selection committee meets
- 22 October: All applicants are contacted
- 23 October - 19 November: All selected artists prepare individually for their part
- 28 October: Deadline to deliver all artists names and titles of the works
- 27 or 29 October: Meeting with all selected artists/designers together with Vere and the curators
- Friday 20 November: Build up
- Friday 20 November: Opening
- 20 - 22 November: Exhibition open
- Sunday evening 22 November: Dismantling exhibition
Contact
For information about the content and selection, please contact Vere van Hal of Rietveld Academie / Public & Projects on via projects@rietveldacademie.nl.
Image: KunstRAI x Rietveld Alumni 2025, work by Lawil Karama, photo by Lucía del Valle Ramírez