01 ... Before I started my Crossmedia study at AKI, I had 5 other ideas in my head of what I wanted to be in the future. It started with my wish to become a stunt woman, after that I wanted to be a detective, a sports teacher, a journalist and finally a pedagogue. But in the end, I found something which is my dream job all together. The AKI is everything I wanted to be, but in one. At the AKI, on Monday I’m a stunt woman who’s searching for adrenaline and who wants to discover, on Tuesday I’m a detective who does her research very properly. On Wednesday I work together with a team, on ideas as a coach. On Thursday I’m a journalist who’s searching for stories. And on Friday I look at my goals as a pedagogue and see if I could achieve them. The AKI is like a kitchen. You can try and taste everything here and cook whatever you want. So you can decide what will be the end result. You can put together your own recipe here, metaphorically speaking ... I am Jessie von Piekartz, ACD 4, AKI since 2014.
02 ... During your time here at AKI you need to surrender yourself. Let new things happen and be open for what’s coming upon your way. I think this is how you learn the most ... I am Cas Klaver, ACD 2, AKI since 2016.
03 ... I came here as the typical chaotic person that I am. I really wanted to do everything at once. I came here and immediately enjoyed the chaos. The first step that I put here in the AKI was on an open-house day. I remember that Elvira hosted it. Imagine being a girl from high school and you have a walk-through lesson from Elvira. So a woman wearing only black clothes with all the punk shit, very intense. I always knew that people who look very strong and unique as a person are almost always the sweetest and the most fun and the nicest. So even though Elvira looked pretty fierce, in fact I immediately came to recognize she is a treasure of a human being. I enjoyed the atmosphere that was there when I came as a freshman. Everyone was kind and friendly. Very open. AKI turned out to be more my home than my actual house. That’s something that I know for sure. AKI is like a little island. An island without any borders, only bridges ... I am Nandile Timmerije, Fine Art 2, AKI since 2016.
04 ... There are not that many layers of meaning in my work yet. I am now, certainly in first year, still experimenting with what I can do with all the materials. So I do not focus very much on the context yet or what I can contribute as an artist. But yes, I am looking for beauty. In my work, I’m mostly focused on the aesthetic value. I put a lot of effort into what things look like and that they’re beautiful. I think my point of weakness is that my idea is not completely translated properly, because I just want to make things beautiful ... I am Tobias Thaens, Fine Art 1, AKI since 2017.
05 ... At the moment, I’m still experimentally busy, i.e., busy with who and what am I and how I can express that to the outside world. I’m engaged in finding out who I am as an artist. It’s a bit like dipping those toes into the water, slowly, before you dive all in ... I am Loes Schoenmakers, Fine Art 1, AKI since 2017.
06 ... I make humorous work and I like to illustrate. It’s difficult for me to make dramatic work. It’s just not in me, I guess. I do appreciate dramatic work from others, but for myself I like to create funny content. For me, everything should be a little more airy, happy and slightly more fun. I like to give my work a funny twist. AKI is an extreme. For me, it’s either amazing or the complete opposite. It’s never really in between. That may be due to the fact that you are doing everything with so much heart here. My feeling for the AKI varies from day to day. AKI is like entering an inspiring website. I can find so much inspiration through this environment. But as well a lot from myself. I am still very experiential busy. I am still looking to discover my own style and see what I’m capable of. I’m not busy with design in my environment yet. School and home – these are somewhat still separate from each other for me...I am Linda Snoek, ACD 1, AKI since 2017.
07 ... My work is digital, intuitive, black and white and I appreciate simplicity and minimalism ... I am Mike de Jong, ACD 4, AKI since 2014.
08 ... I think I chose fine art because it’s so broad, you can do anything. And if I can learn how to do fine art I can go forward in life. If you learn fine art, it’s not sold under just one package, I can do whatever I want as long as I think creatively and I think that’s what fine art is. AKI mentality is very motivational. Because nobody wants to be better than you, they just want you to be your best self. Life without art is impossible. I think people don’t realize that there is art in everything. For someone to create anything they need to have some kind of creativity. People want the art but they don’t want to acknowledge that it’s art. And so without art nothing is really possible ... I am Jana Keijdener, Fine Art 1, AKI since 2017.
09 ... You can get out of this study what you put into it. So if you put in a lot of energy, effort and love into something – it’s seen and appreciated and you can also get it back. Everything is possible. I am very bad at making decisions. But here it’s more like you can form decisions yourself i.e., you do not have to make them. You can discover everything that suits you in a playful way. You can develop yourself ... I am Jessie Wijburg, ACD 2, AKI since 2016.
10 ... AKI is kind of a club. The Akians. I like working with photography. I find the collection of images fascinating. That feels good to me. At the moment I’m working on a project where I photograph mobile phones – locked, but where you can see the background image. Nowadays, we do not print so many pictures anymore. But we make thousands and thousands of photos. And from this huge collection of photos, we choose one that we place on the background of our mobile phones. And everyone is allowed to see that. It’s like framing a photo. And that’s what’s interesting to me – what do people choose to frame from their huge stack of pictures? I do not often think in a single work – more in series. I think a series can tell more than just a single picture. With my work I want to transcend myself – again and again ... I am Lisa van der Kemp, ACD 3, AKI since 2015.
11 ... Since I was a little girl I had a dream of becoming an artist one day. Fine Art is a pleasure, it never gets boring to me. I think I can do this for the rest of my life ... I am Nienke van der Berg, Fine Art 1, AKI since 2017.
12 ... I’m mostly focusing on painting now. I already studied Fine Art in Korea. I’m at AKI, because I want to study further. The Art School in Korea was really progressive. By the time I studied Fine Art there, I was mostly teached in Contemporary Art and Philosophy and used to make Performance Art and Films. My Foundation Skills were not convincing to me in Korea. I used to use only ready-made materials. I wanted to practice handson media. That’s why I’m here in the Netherlands now. I’m doing the complete opposite. In Korea I couldn’t feel, express and fulfill myself and I was working like a machine, just functioning. But now, that I know the importance to express oneself, I do want to follow this dream of mine and convey my feelings and emotions through art, through making my own art, my own paintings. I don’t want to work like a machine anymore. I want to be human. But painting is just one of my passions. I don’t want to restrict myself on one way of working, I want to be a diverse artist, not only expressing myself through my paintings, but also through other kinds of art, like sculptures. I want to practice and extend my foundation skills ... I am Min Ahn, Fine Art 1, AKI since 2017.
13 ... AKI is some sort of small bubble. We are together all the time and together we’re going through the process. Nobody would do it for the money here or to become famous. Everyone does it from within themselves and also because they feel they have to bring something to the world. People eat and drink here, people hang out together. It is really some kind of small town or something. But that can have its negative sides at times as well. That you are completely absorbed in your bubble so that you forget entirely what’s happening around it. AKI is a safe place. It makes you feel comfortable and homely. I am a bit in conflict with the AKI. Enschede is also a bit isolated from the real world. For studying it is nice because you can discover who you are as a designer/ artist or maker. On the other hand, I think that when you are graduating from the AKI that little bubble pops. I’m a bit afraid of that ... I am Judith Glimmerveen, ACD 2, AKI since 2016.
14 ... I was always drawing. What I always drew was a girl on a bike. And now that I’ve grown I realized, I’m that girl on the bike. Always on the run and never standing still. Through my work, I want to get something started. I want to tell stories, but I also want people to talk to each other about my work. So my work is both a monologue and a dialogue. I started my creative path with photography. Back in the days, my work was always quite aestethic. I was mainly focused on creating beautiful things. I just wanted to work that way. I enjoyed the beauty in my work. At a given moment, I found out that I can tell stories with my photography. It no longer had to be about something that is aesthetically pleasing. I mean – ugliness can also be very beautiful too. With the help of my work, I want people to look beyond the edge of what is known, or what they’ve been told what’s right or wrong. I want people to open up their minds and hearts. My work is the opposite of: what you see is what you get. I see my work as self-evident. The work I make deals with topics that appear natural to me. To give an example: one time, I went to Barcelona to photograph a good friend of mine who was wearing sometranslucent blue trousers. It seemed nice to me to do a photoshoot, but suddenly a woman with two dogs walked by and she started calling things to my friend.I could not understand anything, as it was all in Spanish. But there was another friend with us who could speak Spanish who told us that the things the woman shouted weren’t really polite at all – nasty things. It was an uncomfortable sphere. Then there was also a boy
of eight or nine years who started using abusive language. He said things like “Who do you think you are? That’s so wrong, you are a man – dress like one. You can’t wear pants like that.“ I was so shocked and did not know what to say. I did not even think that such a thing could happen. That might be because we come from an environment, the AKI where everything is possible. A place where you can be who you are without feeling ashamed. Everyone accepts and respects each other. If you run around in colorful jeans – fine, do your thing. If you have your hair dyed in 10 colors – fine, do your thing. If you look different than the rest – fine! But if you step out of the bubble and realize that not everyone is that acceptable and open-minded, you become conscious of the fact that it’s important to actually make work about those topics, to make them more open to discussion through art and photography. This is really important to me as it makes me really angry to experience situations like that. This is the reason why I’m doing art, the reason why I’m photographing, the reason why I’m making work. I would love to make other people aware of the fact that our world isn’t that black and white. It’s colorful. I want to open people’s eyes, minds and hearts ... I am Merel Musch, ACD 4, AKI since 2014.
15 ... My work is colorful and playful. For me, I have discovered illustrating. In the past I always thought that if you were an illustrator you always had to draw very nicely and that it should be very realistic. But that’s not how it works all the time. It can be very practical if illustrations simply have a certain appearance. My entire way of thinking has been reversed through AKI. All things that I thought that would be wrong are right and things from which I thought I can’t do – I can ... I am Iris Veltman, ACD 2, AKI since 2016.
16 ... I was in the second year and I was very much in doubt whether I should switch to fine art or not. I thought I should really get away from the AKI for some time. I was pretty busy but I really had no idea what I was doing. A friend of mine, Antonie Koenen, who had to do an internship (who also studied graphic design), said one day: „I really do not want to do an internship, I really want to do something else.“ And by chance, we had received a few assignments via his father, who is a community worker. He was busy with an assignment and he needed Antonie to design things and it was actually too big for one person. So Antonie asked if we could work together. It was a social design assignment and that was actually the first time I did something like that. It was just so much fun to do. Then we thought, we could start a business together and that was called “VAN DIE JONGENS“. He had to do an internship and I really wanted to get away from the AKI, so we thought we could work together and figure out a project. I’m not quite sure anymore how we came up with that idea, I think we were once sitting on the terraces in Zwolle, pretty drunk and thought about how chill it would be to go cycling for a few months or something. So we bought a tandem and just left and made a project out of it. From Utrecht we went cycling towards the south. So the aim of our bike-journey was to investigate what the concept of home means to people nowadays. Along the way, we just went knocking on peoples doors to ask for shelter for the night and to interview them. We cycled 3 1/2 month in total. This was the most adventurous experience within my time here at AKI. I learned a lot on
this journey to the south. We have met many interesting people on this trip and got to hear so many different stories about what home means to people. The project was also a moment of my own understanding of what kind of work I actually wanted to make and what I wanted to do after the AKI. So in the end we arrived with our tandem in southern France – 200 km south of Paris. Up to and including Belgium, we have always been able to sleep in people‘s homes. But the French have not been super hospitable. From that moment on we actually only camped wildly, at the most bizarre places. Sometimes we were also sent away by the police. Then we really experienced what it means not to feel at home. In the end we left the bike unlocked with a little sign that said that people could use the tandem if they wanted to go on an adventure just like we did. When I came back from that trip, I had gained enough energy that I knew in which direction I wanted to go. I’m still doing crossmedia design and I think that the last semester, the semester that I came back from the journey, was one of the best semesters so far. During that bike ride I had a lot of contact with people. That is something I really enjoy now. I think especially that contact with people is something that is more present in my work now. I’m no longer only sitting behind my desk to create things. I’m going outside! The trip was helpful to get influences from outside the AKI for a brief moment. I’m looking at things from a different angle now. It was more instructive to leave the AKI for a while rather than to stay here for a half year. I needed to step outside my comfort zone ... I am Reinier Postma, ACD3, AKI since 2015.
17 ... The hardest part of being a teacher here? I teach crossmedia students and these students are so different from each other. You can do so much with crossmedia and that, of course, attracts very different people. The hard part about that is that you also get a lot of different expectations from students. The one wants to do a lot of handcraft, the other is working very conceptual. And I have to find a middle course. AKI is rebellious, broadlooking and thinking. You have to find something that serves all students, no matter how different or on what kind of levels they are. That is difficult but that’s also the challenge I really enjoy ... I am Jesse Strikwerda, teacher of illustration, AKI since 2016.
18 ... The hardest part of being a designer are the frustrations. I have learned that they’re part of the process. In the first year, that was 2015, I had been on a study trip to New York and met Jason Polan. He’s an American artist who is quickly illustrating people who are coming along his way. He told me that you don’t make use of lots of work that you are creating. I always thought that everything that you are making is special. He told me that three quarters of the work that he’s doing, he’s not using anymore. He just left it on the side. I found that really interesting. It gave me a feeling of rest, that not every work necessarily has to be perfect. It was nice to hear that from somebody who is not your teacher, because you still have the idea now and then that teachers say that to get you working. I think that’s really cool ... I am Michel Beld, ACD 3, AKI since 2015.
19 ... Currently I know that getting stuck is part of the creative process. That’s why I’m embracing it. And especially now that I’m graduating I know that there will come a week of getting stuck. I just know it. But I’ll let it come. I know that after this week, my work will get better. After I sit in a week of getting stuck, I’m frequently more proud of my work, because it took a little more effort and strength than usual. Sometimes my attitude of working is very perfectionistic in nature. But AKI taught me that I may fail. That it’s okay to fail at times. Just fail better next time. It does not have to be perfect. The road to a successful work can be quite beautiful, even if this road isn’t the easiest path to go. That’s why I’m often more proud of my work when the road to it wasn’t the easiest and best structured, but rather quite difficult at times. Overcoming difficulties can bring more pleasure into your work. And of course more appreciation for the final results ... I am Nadie van Wijk, ACD 4, AKI since 2014.
20 ... You are not less creative than others, because everyone is creative in their own way ... I am Verena Wegmann, ACD 4, AKI since 2014.
21 ... Fear is an excuse not to do something that you aren’t good at or afraid of. But exactly in these fears are your challenges. Otherwise you’re just playing it safe. AKI has not delivered fully what I expected yet. I actually expect more interdisciplinarity, more cross-pollination, and perhaps in certain things a clearer course or clearer vision. I love mistakes, I even accentuate mistakes in my work. I think that has to do with etchings and wood carvers. I find the process more beautiful when you learn to embrace them ... I am Patrick Mangnus, graphics-instructor, AKI since 2011.
22 ... When talking about art, I would say stop questioning what it is and instead start questioning what it can do. Not only for you, but for anyone. And also not necessarily in a useful sense – not everything has to be useful. But ask yourself the question: what are the capabilities instead of what is it’s identity? I think that’s very important – for viewing any kind of art ... I am Jacco Borggreve, Fine Art 4, AKI since 2014.
23 ... Has the AKI delivered what I expected? I was always kinda naive. I thought when I graduate, then I would have a graduation show and then surely someone would see my work and keep the ball rolling but in the end, you have to stay busy. That is something that I’ve underestimated – and still underestimate. You have to do it for yourself and on your own. You have to create your own opportunities. I do not really believe that what we think is reality, because reality is just how you experience it. I‘ve always had that idea that I experience things a little different than others ... I am Dirk Comello, Fine Art Media, AKI since 2006.
24 ... I have discovered that it is one of my natural talents to teach. I had never thought about that before I was hired. But I seem to find it much easier to teach than all of the other work that I’m doing. Making art is difficult, composing is difficult, designing is difficult, but teaching – explaining something – this is one of my natural talents. I think it’s really pleasant to find out that you’re good at something by nature without having to work really hard. Each week I prepare what I am going to teach the students, to bring them a step closer to their goals. Then I hope that the foundation stabilizes so that I can continue building upon that foundation, and eventually create a tower of knowledge ... I am Martin Draax, teacher of graphic and animation design, AKI since 2010.
25 ... Fun things that happened at AKI? From ripping your pants to someone who tells you a nice story – every day at AKI is different. It never gets boring. You experience lots of different things through which you get inspired to make new work as well. I found my spot here because everything fell into place. Talking about the people I‘m dealing with now, and the school itself, the atmosphere and what I‘m working on. Everything has come together. It feels right. It feels good ... I am Jurel Bakker, ACD 1, AKI since 2017.
26 ... The most exciting thing that happened to me during my time here at AKI took place during our study trip to New York City in 2016. The sunrise had just begun when, on a Saturday morning, we left our apartment in Brooklyn at Bedford Avenue. It was our first day in New York. My camera had been around my neck for the whole time. I was looking for moments and spots which do not show the stereotypical illustration of New York. No photos of yellow taxis and skyscrapers. I really wanted to portray a different kind of New York through photography. Therefore, I decided to have a look in a restaurant, even though I really did not want to eat anything, but just to get an insight into the daily life of an American. With 15 students entering the restaurant, we received many curious glances from the guests. I immediately enjoyed the atmosphere in it but nevertheless decided to leave. On my way back to the door, I saw an old man sitting alone at a table in the corner. I was slowing down to get a more detailed image of this interesting man. Suddenly, there was this moment. The moment where I thought: “Yes! This is what I want to capture.“ The way he sat alone at the table, drinking coffee, reading a newspaper, with his shiny gray hair, wearing a beige checkered jacket in this traditional American restaurant. I also saw an analog camera on the table and really fell in love with that picture that I saw in front of me. But then, I felt blocked by the fact that I was too shy to take a picture of a guest in the middle of a restaurant. When leaving the restaurant, I was annoyed by myself because so often, when I really want to take a photo I do not dare to. But in this moment, I thought: “Come on, you’re in New York, just do it.“ I was still too shy to go back inside the restaurant, but then I thought about taking the photo through the window. The only problem was, that the window was one meter above my head. So, I just leaned against the wall on my tiptoes, holding my camera with an outstretched arm over my head and took a picture of the man sitting at the table in the corner. I took my camera down, looked at the photo and with my eyes wide open, I saw the man straight looking into my camera. I felt as
though I had been “caught in the act“ but I did not have the time to react. Suddenly, a man behind me said: “You photographed my father.“ Silence...and I really felt unpleasant and sorry. Then he added: “It is really interesting that you are photographing him, because he is a famous photographer.“ Then he went into the restaurant. I was shocked and felt even more uncomfortable. I did not want him to feel as though he had been photographed by a paparazzi, even though I didn’t think that I looked like a paparazzi. He just saw my camera directly next to him through the window and that might have made him feel awkward or uncomfortable. I spontaneously walked in again, mustered all my courage and apologized for taking the picture. Still feeling uncomfortable, I explained that I really just liked the whole scenery but when looking up I noticed that the old man and this son, who was now sitting opposite of him, were not mad at me at all. Quite the contrary, they started asking me questions about where I am from, what I am doing here, what I am studying... “I am Frank and this is my father Tony Vaccaro.“ The man with the gray shirt said. He showed me the work of Tony, which once again made me feel uncomfortable not having heard of him before. However, I just had the feeling that this could be something really special and that I will never forget the photographer Tony Vaccaro. When I told them that I am German, Tony started talking about his past with “TASCHEN Verlag“ and his experience in the second world war. It was so interesting to listen to his stories of which there fortunately seemed to be plenty. Then Tony said to his son: “But Frank we should help the young creative people. We should show them our studio.“ “Tony we are preparing the exhibition, our studio is too small to let 30 people in,“ Frank answered. But after a while they decided to show the studio to just four or five of us. I called my docent, Ina Bode, to the table and we talked about the AKI and what we are doing here, while Tony continued to tell us so many more interesting stories of his past. After Tony and Frank had breakfast, my three docents and fellow student, Toms, accompanied me to go with them to their studio. I really could not believe that all this was really happening to
me when we were entering the studio. Many certificates were hanging on the wall and Tony began to start talking about his many speedwells/ prizes that were displayed in a glass cabinet surrounded by old cameras. It was stunning. In this room we could imagine the past of a 93 year old man who was walking as a soldier with his camera around his neck in the war. And still to this day, he carried his Leica around his neck. I noticed a big poster of one of the exhibitions of his affecting war photography hanging on the wall. It was nice to hear Tony reading the German sentences on the poster which was dated in Leipzig in 2001. Underneath the frame was another frame. Toms quietly spoke to me: “Is this Picasso in the frame?“ and I looked at it and had to ask it out loud. Tony grabbed the frame and began to speak: “Yes, it is Picasso. Picasso was my old friend, I lived with him for two months in Mougins.“ Okay... this cannot be real, this is a dream, I thought. But it was real. It was live history class and I was so speechless that the only words I could form were “wow“ for the next one and a half hours. I couldn’t believe how my experience had gone from wanting to take a photo of a man drinking coffee to hearing all about his experience of his enriched life. Additionally, it was also amazing to see how lovely his son Frank organized this whole studio for him. It was an enormous sorted archive of history, of his own father’s history. Tony also gave us an insight into his darkroom where he still develops his negatives regularly. He showed us the negatives of the series of J.F. Kennedy and Nixon, making me even more shocked. What we were discovering was part of the human history. I know it might sound very cheesy, but that morning was one of the most special moments in my life. It confirmed my belief that photography is one of the most beautiful media to capture a moment and to capture a whole life ... I am Theresa Forthaus, ACD 3, AKI since 2015.
27 ... At AKI I got in touch with analog photography for the first time in my life. When I was a kid, we had no darkroom, so I did not grow up with photography. My love for analog photography and photography in general developed here. I came into the AKI to learn an instrument. I see photography as an instrument through which I can express myself as I continue to mature. I always have a camera with me. I have developed quite an AKI way of working. You feel a fascination for something and you dive into it. When I see things that trigger me I take a picture. Very banally said: this is how I make work. My work is intimate, personal and close to me. I’ve created a large archive and will probably never stop extending it. You could say I put up a photographic diary by my autonomous work. You could call my work auto-biographical diary based photography. You have to feel a kind of love for it. I compare it with music. It starts with that appreciation for a sound ... I am Aalt van de Glind, fine art media, photography-instructor, AKI since 2011.
28 ... The workshops are some kind of toolbox. If you as a designer or artist, learn to use as many tools as possible and know for what they are needed for, then it will be your own practice – a huge plus. In how small we are as an academy, our task is to situate and accept people as they are so that they can manifest themselves. As a student, I experienced AKI as heaven on earth. I’m really a student of the 70’s and 80’s where everything was allowed. Where you could graduate with only a single sound. That’s not possible anymore, of course. But for that period of time it was pretty revolutionary in the world of education. My motivation to get up every morning and go to work? After 30 years at AKI? Good question. It’s the contact with the students that motivates me. Look, I can teach everyone a technique, but that technique is not what’s interesting to me. I find much more interesting, what you do – as a designer, as an artist, as a student with that technique. That’s exciting ... I am Rudi Bastiaans, silkscreen-instructor, AKI since 1976.
29 ... All students are well placed in their value. There is a possibility to develop. There are so many options. We give each other the space to grow. I appreciate that students develop their own ideas and come up with something themselves here at AKI. We have motivated students who really choose this profession and who want to learn something, and who can contribute their own passion and ideas. As a teacher, I can really enjoy this. It’s beautiful that I can help the students with their visions ... I am Jan Guichelaar, instructor of technical acquirements and teacher of moving image, AKI since 2012.
30 ... At the moment I am mainly working with virtual reality. I am working on my own animations that I try to make as lifelike as possible. When I discovered the VR glasses and experienced how you can step into such a new world I knew that it was in this area that I wanted to work. The worlds that I create are as abstract as possible, mystically and dreamful. I create virtual-realityworlds to change the world. I think that the world in which we are living in is too boring. That’s why I’m creating new ones in addition. I have not slept tonight. Half past seven in the morning I was still busy creating things in different interfaces. I’m curious to see what it looks like with the glasses on. So I think that the virtual-worlds that I create – the worlds I can see with my own eyes and can experience through 3D – motivate me the most ... I am Bram de Bree, Fine Art Media 4, AKI since 2014.
31 ... In the third year I made a living room out of the entrance of the AKI. For one week I brought all the furniture of my room to the Academy. With my television and everything. I brought the furniture to the Academy with the help of the AKI bus. In fact, you almost live in the AKI. So I thought quite impulsively, that I can also bring my entire living room here. At one point I also celebrated my birthday there – with garlands and cake. I think it’s interesting to create spaces where a certain atmosphere dominates. I also like the fact that it might be “weird“. I’m fascinated by creating environments and creating certain atmospheres. A question that keeps me busy at the moment is what, for God‘s sake, I should to do with all those photos I‘ve made. I have a huge collection of photos. I collect them in photo albums without any front or back side. This way, I can immediately see what can be found in which album ... I am Jelle van Assem, Fine Art Sculpture 4, AKI since 2014.
32 ... AKI mentality? I think everybody is accepted here. Everybody is free to do what they want and the only obstacle you have is yourself. The only reason you might not do stuff might be because you are afraid do to it, or you think that other people don’t like it and that can have a debilitating effect. The teachers will tear you down and push you into the ground and they only do that to see if you can make it back up. Because they know that you can only grow by your mistakes and you can only learn from your mistakes. If you do everything well then there is nothing to teach. So I think the AKI mentality is really about learning to trust yourself. You learn to be on your own and convince other people of your worth, of what you are capable of. In my work I’m looking for accessibility for the viewer. I’m very busy researching the concept that art is more than just a painting or a sculpture. It can be something that you can experience yourself. Art is not just for the upper class, everyone should be able to enjoy and make art. I actually came to the AKI to film. But I’m not filming that much, lately. So I thought of a project called “10seconddays-videos“. It’s an assignment to work on every day of the week. I’m making a film everyday with a duration of 10 seconds. Sometimes I just need to stand still and notice what’s happening around me. You don’t always need a lot of action to create something beautiful. The films I appreciate the most are the ones that stand still, where only very simple things happen. A sort painting with a bit of movement ... I am Astrid Muijderman, Fine Art Media 4, AKI since 2014.
ORIGINAL/15. COZY/60. MIRROR/61. MINDSET/63. ROCK‘N‘ROLL/55. RUNNING AMAZING/34. STUBBORN/37. FREIGEIST/26. INVENTIVE/42. ART-FACTORY/ /16. KINDHEARTED/25. HEADSTRONG/19. FREEDOM/18. INSTRUCTIVE-PLAYG FACTORY/17. LA FAMILIA/54. STRESS/10. FAITH/62. CHURCH/62. SPORTS C /06. WEIRD/07. LOVE/37. PLEASURE/07. DIFFERENT/06. BIZARRE/06. SURPRISIN VICTORY/01. REFLECTION/26. SAFE/38. UNSAFE/38. COLORFUL/36. ORGANIZ INQUISITIVE/17. THIRSTY OF KNOWLEDGE/17. OMG/13. SPATIAL-THINKING/35. W /23. ISLAND/03. ROOTS/03. CONNECTIONS/03. NETWORK/38. INDEPENDENC MOBILE/20. WARM NEST/21. PRETTY LAIDBACK/42. RELAXED/41. ATMOSPHE IMPRESSION/39. DETERMINATIVE/02. SECURE-HATCHERY/19. VAGUE/52. PLA
G-PROCESS/43. FASCINATING/27. NATURAL/27. DIVERSE/15. HARD WORK/34. Y/33. KITCHEN/01. GEZELLIG/46. THE BOMB/49. COMFORTABLE/16. SMALL GROUND/04. EXTRAORDINARY/57. WARM BATH/58. MULTIDISCIPLINARITY/63. CLUB/62. HUMAN/64. EXPERIMENTING/56. SELF-REFLECTION/56. STRANGE NG/61. CONSCIOUS/07. UNPREJUDICED/08. SELF-ESTEEM/01. OVERCOMING/10. ZED-CHAOS/59. VILLAGE/32. DISCOVER/44. DEVELOP/44. SECOND FAMILY/51. WHY/18. WITHOUT INHIBITIONS/29. NAIVE/29. CONFRONTATION/09. CHANCES CE/22. AUTONOMOUS/22. CONFUSING/40. WIDE/40. OPEN/23. PERPETUUM ERE/05. SELF-DISCOVERY/05. MESS/39. UNTIDY PLEASURE/11. PERSONAL/41. AYGROUND/01. INTIMATE/19. MELTING-POT/16. OBSTINATE/52. …WE ARE AKI
33 ... I used to do photography back in the days and now I want to evolve a little bit. AKI seems like a good place to grow. My favorite thing about making films is creating storyboards and the concept behind it. I like how you can include your thoughts in the back of your mind in a way that is not very personal but it still makes your work kinda unique, you know what I mean? If you put something personal in your work, like your experiences, thoughts and ideas it makes your work more valuable. AKI mentality? It’s like a slap in the face. Very straight – very honest. I like that ... I am Raya Manova, Moving Image 1, AKI since 2017.
34 ... At the moment I am working on a film. A film that takes place in an alternative reality. Kind of surreal. The nice thing about surreal or subtle films is that the viewer himself needs to think as well. The moment you get fed with all the information, the moment you get handed everything on a silver platter, your own imagination gets lost. I think presently, too many films give out too much information to the viewers. Sometimes, it can be so much more exciting to simply not give out all the information to the audience and play with its imagination. Once you have seen something, there is no more fantasy – in your head you can make it as scary, exciting or interesting as you like. In terms of tension, it works much better if you only get a glimpse of something – a shadow or another hint. I like playing with information. So I deliberately choose what I show to the audience and what I consciously do not show. It’s so interesting how that effects the viewer’s mind ... I am Djoewe Walta, Fine Art 1, AKI since 2017.
35 ... My work represents memories that I’m trying to capture. My paintings appear very dreamy. Imagination is something that inspires me. As a child imagination is very self-explanatory, when you get older it is slightly less. But it is still an important aspect for me – especially as an artist. The process from childhood to adulthood, so the process of growing up, is a big part of my work. I depict people who are finding themselves in their own imagination or daydreams ... I am Sietske Feenstra, Fine Art 2, AKI since 2016.
36 ... My motto: more is more. Because more is more. And less is less. If you use less salt, there is less salt in the soup. I‘m not saying that more is good, but more is more. Because more is not less. More is more and less is less. But less is often better. In 3 months we are out of the AKI, out of this network of security, we’ll be no longer protected and then we have to weave our own safety net. My work is versatile. It’s not easy to summarize them all under one term but to do so I would have to say: necessary. My work is necessary. Come here and you may be as you are. Here you may be who you want to be. That‘s the AKI mentality for me. Come here, open up yourself and be free. I came here without any wishes. Except, that I really wanted to work more freely, because I was in this ad-agency prison for 3 years and that wasn’t satisfying me at all. Here in the Academy, I really found out that I can stand the pressure and that I’m here for a reason. I was always told “You’re not creative enough“, “You have no vigor“, “You have no power of endurance“. And I always thought, if I can do what I love, then I can succeed in any case! And now that I came here, I found my freedom and can follow my passion. I found my way ... I am Maria Britze, Fine Art Painting 4, AKI since 2014.
37... I graduated in 1990. If I look back now: In the past, when I started in 1985, there were many more students, and the atmosphere at AKI was much more permissive. Besides, there were a lot more financial resources and having enough material was no problem at all. I also think that the student‘s approach was much more anarchistic than today. The people were working so experimental. The AKI was more free than it is now. The regulations nowadays are so much more strict. I think people today are choosing much more consciously for what they are going to study. Especially at crossmedia, but also at fine art. But in the past it was a bit more loose. It was more free and anarchistic. It was less structured. There was a lot of freedom. And that was very nice. I’m not a student in this time but an instructor in ceramics. I cannot say whether it used to be better in the past than it is now, I have no references. I think the students are much more specific today and make choices consciously. They position themselves deliberately. It’s no longer as free as it was. But every „time has its own time or challenges“. And that‘s good for something I think.But was everything better in the back in the days? I don’t think you can compare them. But I am glad that I was a student at that time. I have seen a lot of things that I would never have experienced in my life - and I have met a lot of weird and fascinating people in my study time. I’m still happy to be working here. I never left the AKI. I’m happy that I’m a part of turning peoples passion into reality. I find that very important in my life. Everything can be done within a margin, in principle nothing is impossible if you have the willpower to do it. I don’t know about what kind of concession or detour one may encounter, but in the end you can get there and make it happen. I am really triggered by students who, although you have told them it’s not going to work, still say: “but I want it to work that way.“ Then I think: “ok, nice and stubborn, so go ahead. Try it. Go for it.“ And if it really works: That’s MAGIC. You never stop learning and I appreciate learning from the students every day ... I am Erik Kok, ceramicsinstructor, AKI since 1986.
38 ... In the past as I studied here, the only thing that was different was the location. What I learned here, what I experienced here at AKI - I’m trying to give to the students today. It has simply proven itself. AKI gives space to make mistakes, to restart, to grow and to develop. It surprises me every single day anew. You are part of a big whole but you’re still very individual. That‘s what I think is the most special thing about the AKI. Here at AKI we don‘t care what you do, but WHY you’re doing it. So we are really interested in the person who holds the brush, who works here, who develops, and we are interested in peoples’ fears and weaknesses. But above all, we are interested in the talents. We are searching for the feeling of fascination or enthusiasm for something; when a student has found something, what he really wants to work on and hold onto. And when we discover this fascination and the student discovers this fascination, all energy is released. Every lecturer and teacher knows about it, everyone helps everyone, the huge network is turned on and suddenly a grab bag opens up. The AKI never has claimed to be perfect. The AKI will never fit exactly in the building. We will never be perfect as an academy, and that is the charm that the AKI has. And if you take that into your life, then you know: you get the best out of the moment, you get the best out of your talent. You know how to position yourself, you know your vocabulary, you know the reason why you do this and you are a happy person. Everyone should at least once have the feeling to belong to the AKI and to be able to be your true self ... I am Ina Bode, head of crossmedia design and moving image, AKI since 1986.
39 ... I’m not sure, I can’t say exactly if I will stay here. I think that the best way to grow is to change. I’m not comfortable right now here at AKI. And when I feel comfortable I will understand that I have to go somewhere else. If I realize in third year that I’m not growing anymore, and I feel comfortable, then I will go. But right now I’m not comfortable and that’s good for me. It’s a good kind of being uncomfortable. I feel like I’m growing ... I am Kirill Noskov, ACD 1, AKI since 2017.
40 ... I’m fascinated by people who I don’t hear about every day. During the lessons we hear about artists who are famous and stuff. And sometimes somebody quotes a person that is not famous. Just a regular person, and I’m so fascinated about what that person has to say. One of my tutors mentioned a group of people that believed that a tree is holding up their island. So the tree was basically the life of the island. So if the tree died the island would sink under the water. This amazed me, and I think it’s amazing how we think so differently. Not to say that we must agree but to hear someone else’s opinion is amazing. I find it more fascinating to hear about that and be creative than to take a famous artist and make something similar. I think its fresh and fun to hear about other peoples opinions and advice and to let yourself be inspired by that ... I am Ketiskia Christaly Hodge, ACD 2, AKI since 2016.
41... I find lots of inspiration in my best friend. She is a musician and poet. I take a lot of inspiration from her and the way she thinks, writes and expresses her feelings. I also find inspiration in my own feelings. It’s all in the emotions and thoughts and when I’m stuck creatively I talk to my best friend – that always works for me ... I am Asdis Gylfadottir, ACD 1, AKI since 2017.
42 ... Inspiration is in nature, it’s in your room, in your stuff, in the things you collect and the books that you read. Inspiration comes from your surroundings. You don’t want to create things to be there and just be beautiful. There has to be a hint or a solution. Something that is deeper and more meaningful than just beauty. If you can actually design something that doesn‘t require a person with instruction, talking about visuals, that you create something that people can understand, that people can walk through your idea and understand your message, without you telling them – that is good design. Work that speaks for itself ... I am Nabiha Zaid, ACD 1, AKI since 2017.
43 ... What concerns me the most at the moment is the fact of how we humans treat the earth, how we treat the planet that we’re living on. What we are doing to our planet. But also how humans treat other humans. I often watch documentaries about the earth. In my work, I try to beautifully reflect the pain of our earth. The first glimpse you make, the first time you look at my work, it appears appealing – especially appealing to the eye. In all its colors and shapes. But if you take a closer look and if you take time to really understand the story I’m trying to tell, you’ll more and more recognize how abstract it actually represents pain. When an artwork attracts me with its first impression, I can look at it for a long time. If it doesn’t, I won’t take much time to have a look at it. I think, if I would only use dark colors to communicate my topic, it would be too heavy. That’s why I try to bring lightness and ease into the depths of the problems that I try to reflect. AKI trains strong characters who can stand up for themselves and what they believe ... I am Lorraine Etimiri, Fine Art Painting 4, AKI since 2014.
44 ... The impermanence of nature is part of my work and the wish to repair and recreate nature, as everything is already there. I am the magnifying glass. In my work I show what fascinates me outside. Often these things are the small things which are often also very fragile. I always keep an eye on the detail. I think small things can have a big impact. Small things are very important! My work is about materiality, about the feeling of material and its research. The transformation of material excites me. What happens to it when you examine it in a certain kind of way and how its physical state of aggregation changes, for example from liquid to solid glass. Fine Art Sculpture is a challenging study for me ... I am Marlijn van Zadelhoff, Fine Art Sculpture 4, AKI since 2014.
45 ... I am an observer who’s observing the observer ... I am Wieke Hesp, ACD 2, AKI since 2016.
46 ... At the moment I’m very engaged with the topic depression and how I can communicate the taboo around it to the outside world. Through my paintings I’m trying to put it out there. My paintings that are mainly abstract are inspired by my own feelings and therefore a reflection – a reflection of myself. I’m trying to create abstract feelings. My interest in this topic comes from my personal experience. I have been on therapy for a few years myself. Recently I’m involved with this taboo theme and how to bring it to the outside world. I have trouble talking about it, because of my worries that maybe no one want’s to see it. It isn’t such an easy and nice subject. But nevertheless, I think that this topic needs more attention ... I am Bente van Olderen, Fine Art Painting 4, AKI since 2014.
47... I’m inspired by emotions. I think that’s because I am a very sensitive person myself and I find it interesting how other people deal with certain things. Most of the time, I’m illustrating feelings, and that’s how the emotions come back in my work. My work is a vision. A dream-image. I really enjoy working fancifully and doing things separately from reality. My work is autonomous, abstract, harmonious and colorful ... I am Cas Thorson, ACD 1, AKI since 2017.
48 ... My work is my heart. Dealing with it commercially isn’t very easy for me. My work goes very deep. It‘s a piece of me. There’s a lot of mental energy and time in such a work of art of mine. Very mental. Sometimes that can be very difficult but at the same time it’s overwhelming. That is why I find art so attractive. It’s heaven and hell. If it works, it‘s great and that‘s just better than money. But if it does not go well, if you can not figure it out, and get stuck – then you‘re sitting in the dark ... I am Fleur van Oortmerssen, Fine Art 1, AKI since 2017.
49 ... I appreciate the volume of something. It does not matter what it is. But when you see something for the first time like a skyscraper or something like that, and the first impression you get is impressive, that fascinates me. I think the volume in artworks is really important. If you make something really small, it’s just not that much. I’m really concerned with philosophy in my head. I don’t think that it has a direct influence on my work or that it comes back into my work somehow. But while I’m working, I’m thinking about the philosophy behind my work. At the moment I’m busy with the face of the statue David by Michelangelo. A super beautiful face but it takes a lot of time to cut it out. While I’m cutting it with lino cut I’m thinking about the influence that it could have on people and what kind of associations people would get with it. So I’m dealing with the philosophy behind how people look at certain things or how and what comes into their mind, the first time they’re seeing it. That’s whats going on in my mind while I’m working ... I am Sijtze Woudsma, ACD 2, AKI since 2016.
50 ... I like making things, building things. I like to make spatial work. Something that you can walk around, something that has shape, something that you can see. My work of art is consciously broken – it falls apart sometimes. It is monumental and random. At the moment I’m fascinated by things that are passing by when you are on the road, by train for example. You see so many things passing by, but you don’t see them as the things that they really are but rather as some sort of spots. It’s like a constant flow of information that you can analyze. It simply triggers my imagination ... I am Erik Aardema, Fine Art Sculpture 4, AKI since 2014.
51 ... I appreciate space. I cannot step into a flat surface. I like how you experience a 3D object as you can walk around it and have a look at it from lots of different angles. From AKI I learned about the world that there’s a lot of good and bad things. You can filter for yourself what you’re allowing to get into your life, or not. What I learned for myself through the Academy is to take responsibility for myself and to value myself. Moreover, I developed a specific work mentality accompanied by openness of thinking, accepting and listening to others. I like grabbing a room and creating something with it. For example a room with nothing inside except a button. Then that whole space works along, also your work is just a small button. That’s interesting to me how these things interact with each other ... I am Dave Fransz, Fine Art Sculpture 2, AKI since 2016.
52 ... At AKI I learned that as a designer I can quickly switch between ideas. I’m flexible ... I am Jip Bertelink, ACD 2, AKI since 2016.
53 ... Before I graduated, I thought about what I am going to do next? One of those things after graduating is that there are a lot of exhibitions and things like that. I thought maybe there’s a gallery interested or that I can give a lecture. People will come to you and they’ll ask: „Do you want to do this and that?“ And then you will have to make a choice – or simply not. And I deliberately chose to say YES against everyone and everything for the first 6 months after my graduation, so until the 1st January 2018. If someone said to me, “Hey this is something interesting, you should sign up for that“ – I signed up. I got emails like „Hey – do you think this and that is fun?“ – Yes. That means that I have signed up for the weirdest things like the “Fiep Westendorp Price“ and I’m not even an illustrator. And I’ve been so busy with that. There was, for example, a project where I, together with figure skaters, started working together. So therefore I went to Friesland and there were lots of international people who skate. They did that very gracefully. I could not skate at all. I was six years old the last time that I skated. Within this project we all together thought about ways to make figure skating more extreme and creative. We thought about shows and if we could discover new forms. We actually tried to rediscover figure skating. And that’s what I did for three days – day and night. We started at six o’clock in the morning. The first time I was on the ice again, I was very anxious, but after some time I got more confident and started to jump and spin. And now, slowly all those projects I’ve said yes to are coming to an end. Usually you encounter things, and from there you will do your research. I have a lot of books, numerous books. And when I’m stuck and come to a point in my life where I don’t know what to do, I just pull a book out of the bookshelf. Then I look at things until I get that feeling from within. Same when you are falling for someone: when you see that person, substances are released and you have to respond to them. The added value of AKI are its students. I’m convinced of that. The students make and define the Academy. I’m not convinced that the AKI is just a building with an administration. AKI is an idea. The art academy is a philosophy ... I am Ole Nieling, Fine Art Media, AKI since 2013.
54 ... The feeling that I’ve connected with the AKI in the beginning was lots of love, freedom and fun. But over time, things have become much more serious for me, as I very seriously focused on my work. Last year, the feeling I associated with AKI was rather negative, now it’s a little better. The last year at AKI was a bit too nice and funny and positive and with too much ease and all that, which annoyed me. The seriousness was missing. And now, one year after graduating, I’ve some distance again. It‘s a place to come back to. I have the feeling that I am always connected to this place. AKI is definitely a part of me and that will always be the case. The AKI has laid the foundation of my artistic career, my future. AKI is the beginning and therefore super important and essential and will therefore always be consistent. I think when I come back here, I can always snack a bit of the AKI essence. Coming back to the AKI is like looking in a mirror, because I can see how I’ve developed in the meantime. AKI is like a reflection of my own development and helps me to position myself in it. AKI mentality? It’s like “Us against the rest of the society.“ We live in a different world here, far away from the normal society that just goes their own way and whose lives oscillate between shopping, working and doing sport-activities. We are thinking in a completely different way. For me, visual art is another way of thinking. A very special kind of language and dialogue. We think on different levels, unlike the standard society. To generalize this now – our inner world is more complex, colorful or has more cross-links. We, as AKI people, are aware of this. The interesting thing is that for the other people who look at us from the outside, they cannot even imagine why we are so different and think so differently. Our own way of thinking is what connects us and separates us from the others. That’s why we as AKI people understand each other so well. I often realize that people are either super curious or super skeptical. You can tell that outsiders think we’re from a different race or that we belong to a completely different species. And I think this creates this „we against the rest of the society“ – or “the rest against us“– mentality, depending on how you look at it ... I am Hannah Joka, Fine Art Sculpture, AKI since 2013.
55 ... I’ve always loved London. All the music and graphic design stuff I loved came from London. I’ve always had an eye on London. My teacher Gert Leuveling said, that if I like London so much, I should go there. And all I could think of was: “Yeah, of course – as if they’re waiting for me!?“. Nevertheless, I applied for an internship in London, with my portfolio from third year. I did an internship at SAATCHI & SAATCHI, an advertising agency, but somehow it was no fun. Between the third and fourth year at AKI, I had a semester break and went to London for a few weeks and called all the companies that seemed interesting to me. I did this before there was the internet, from a phone booth with a phonecard. Afterwards, I had managed to have 20 interviews. No job interviews but interviews to introduce myself and to show my portfolio, “since I’m coming to London the upcoming year,“ I always said. I had some really good conversations. After graduating, I immediately moved to London. I already had a few contacts and I’ve called everyone back. There was no internet – so I really had to go there myself and say: “Here I am.“ At SEA Design I started working as a junior graphic designer for three years. It was so great to work there. They were very 60’s orientated. It certainly helped that I studied in the Netherlands, in the country with Ben Bos and all the heroes from the sixties. They must have thought, if he studied there he has to know something. They obviously didn‘t know that Enschede is in the middle of nowhere. After three years at SEA Design I wanted to move on. It was so
great to work there, that it could be just as good somewhere else, but never better. I wanted to work independently. So I‘ve created something for myself in London as a graphic designer. I already had some contacts and it worked really well. After four years of independence, I thought about working in Amsterdam as well. Through the AKI, I still had a lot of contacts in North Holland. And then I worked and lived in Amsterdam and London. The laptop made this possible. With a laptop you can work everywhere. After a year in Amsterdam I recognized that the living standard is so much higher in Amsterdam than in England. At some point the AKI, who had kept an eye on me apparently, called me and asked if I could give a workshop. It was fun and the AKI asked if I want to teach there and I agreed. The AKI will never let you go. As a student, I really lived here and watched television in the evening with my fellow student Sonja and simply had the best time. I’ve always missed the AKI. It has changed a lot in the meantime. It’s always developing further. I think that the years you spent on the AKI are really important. You shape yourself. Without AKI I wouldn‘t have been so brave. AKI has taught me that I have to stay true to myself and my work. If it goes wrong, you just start again. The AKI gave me a kick in the ass, it’s like applied Rock’n’Roll. What other people say or what is allowed or not allowed is simply not interesting here. And that has always proven itself. AKI is beyond now ... I am Carsten Klein, teacher of typography and crossmedia design, AKI since 1995.
56 ... I think I have formed my identity here. Four years at AKI really means self-reflection and research. Metaphorically speaking, to be able to look under each stone - and see what lies beneath it. This has helped me to stand stronger in my own shoes and to see where my own passion lies and to develop and grow. I graduated from the AKI in 2016 and now I’m working on starting up a publishing company in collaboration with the AKI. With the publishing company I want to offer a stage to art academy students, because we have so many talented students on ArtEZ who deserve a stage on which to shine. And secondly, there are a lot of students who want to publish work, but don‘t have an idea where to begin. So I want to be the mediator and guide the student in a process from concept design to a final publication. The most important thing is that the content has to breath the design, so I don‘t want to limit the artist and ‚kill his darlings‘ by giving him choices he has to make about certain ways of design or printing. Some of the work doesn‘t ask for a digital print but for a silk screen technique or need to be bounded by hand. So, I don’t only want to publish books, but also bring the book back as an art object. AKI mentality is to rebel against existing rules. It’s preferably doing everything that is not allowed. It’s the constant search for boundaries and how to cross them. It’s a never ending loop of falling down and getting back up. It’s the constant discipline of doing work again and again and again until you’re truly satisfied with your results ... I am Kylie Bremer, ACD, AKI since 2012.
57... I’ve always been a creative person. Already at school, all the pupils painted the sun in the upper right hand corner of the image and I painted it in the lower left hand corner. If I get stuck creatively and cannot move forward, then I just have to turn off all the equipment and social media and take a walk in the fresh air. We are confronted with so many stimuli every day. I find that exhausting every now and then. Stimuli come from everywhere and you can hardly sort your own thoughts. Sometimes that‘s just too much for me, talking about all the information with which the world confronts you. Just like street signs and posters and stuff like that. You get so much information every day that you think “hey I also need space for my own ideas and thoughts.“ The AKI is like a mason jar with many colorful butterflies. From the outside, you think „Wow that looks interesting and when you open it, there appears so much more than you could have ever imagined.“ ... I am Phoebe Gornowicz, ACD 1, AKI since 2017.
58 ... I write poetry. I write a lot about feelings. I can write an entire world around my feelings. In the past my texts were more about rose scent and moonshine, that’s a Dutch saying for those beautiful things in life. But now that I have grown older, my texts are also about hard topics like pain, losses, fear, etc. I like to discuss difficult things. I want the reader to recognize himself in the subject, but I also want the reader to be able to fill in the poetry by his imagination. There’s a place for others’ thoughts in my poetry. I think it is our mission to make people feel something through our work, especially in this busy society in which we live. My work is colorful, sensitive and raw. Soft from the first sight but when you look closer there is a painful edge ... I am Hilde ten Klooster, ACD 4, AKI since 2014.
59 ... I find inspiration in everything. I’m half Mexican and half German. I always knew that I’m somewhere in between. Being on time might not be one of my strengths but I hate when people are too late. AKI, with all it’s freedom, taught me that I have the control over my actions, I have the power over my habits. Reflecting this on my work, it’s good to be somewhere in between. It makes my work better ... I am Victoria Köberle, ACD 4, AKI since 2014.
60 ... My dream to become an Art Director started with one person. His name is Jean-Paul Goude. He is a really ambitious person. The way he works is really inspiring to me. He’s so enthusiastic and always hard working. I can see that he loves what he is doing. He has his own style. Even if he does different commercials or films, illustrations or photographs – he has his own handwriting that one can always recognize. So I’d like to become like him one day – An Art Director with an own identity and distinctive and recognizable handwriting. Since I started at AKI, I changed my mindset compared to when I was in High School. I had to do subjects that I wasn’t really interested in and get good grades. But here at AKI the main focus lies on learning something for and about yourself, for your path as a designer, for your own career. And that’s what motivates me to get up in the morning and work on. This is the path that I chose for myself. People here tell me that I come off as a fierce person, but back in High School I wasn’t that interested and passionate and self-confident. But now, that I have this ambition, and the willingness to learn more for me and my career, I’m not the same person anymore who was hiding. I have learned to stand up for myself ... I am Anna Son, ACD 1, AKI since 2017.
61... I have made a very large self-portrait of 3 by 2.5 meters and printed it on fabric, as a kind of curtain, which you have to walk through. People often tend to overlook me, as I‘m a bit of a gray mouse/ plain Jane at times. Through this artwork, you really have to walk through and recognize me, as you cannot pass otherwise. In the photo I’m wearing a blue t-shirt because blue stands for selfconfidence and power... I am Sarah Boer, Fine Art Media 4, AKI since 2014.
62... AKI in 2 words? I would say Church and Sports Club. Church means believing in something, so by that I don’t mean God but metaphorically speaking to believe in something, in that there is more between heaven and earth, in that you want to achieve something, in that you are doing it for a reason. A better word would be faith. And Sports Club because we practice here, practice together, sweat together, work in teams together, practice with our weak and our strong leg and after the match, we celebrate together, whether we won or not, as we’re always learning. During your time here at AKI, you have to develop your brain paths. You develop them by having worked with different materials in the different workshops. You have to try out different design processes. And you have to chat together with other people about your work and their work. All of these aspects develop brain paths ... I am Bas Könning, teacher of crossmedia design, AKI since 1986.
63 ... AKI is like a constant museum where I can walk in all day. Every day I see new work from people. I just love that. It makes me chill out. And above all, I can also put something down in the museum myself. Yes, I think that’s great ... I am Simon Wagter, Fine Art Sculpture 3, AKI since 2015.
64 ...The AKI is about finding your own path. There is no glorious way. There is no specific master plan. The requirement is that you look for your own master plan, for your own glorious way ... I am Anika Franke, teacher of image-generation, AKI since 2005.
Thanks to Deacon John Butch Homoelle, Carsten Klein, Arjan Benning, Ina Bode, Jellichje Reijnders and everyone who has given me the time for a little chat, it has been a pleasure ... I am Laura Homoelle, ACD 4, AKI until 2018.