About the part that art plays in a globalising society

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Piet Zwart Institute

Piet Zwart Instituut

The Piet Zwart Institute houses the international Master’s programmes of the Willem de Kooning Academy at Rotterdam University of Applied Sciences (RUAS). Since 1999 it has been dedicated to promoting study and research in the fields of art, design and art education. The Piet Zwart Institute is part of the Willem de Kooning Academy (WdKA), an art school that can be found right at the heart of the design city of Rotterdam.

WdKA’s Master’s programmes are positioned within the Piet Zwart Institute (PZI). Named after the pioneering Dutch designer Piet Zwart, who worked experimentally across different media and contexts, the Institute offers a rich combination of in-depth specialisation and interdisciplinary exchange within an intimate learning environment. The Piet Zwart Institute houses four full-time Master’s programmes. Through uniquely tailored curricula combining collective learning, individual tutorials, practice-based research and theoretical inquiry, the programmes educate professionals who have a critically reflective, innovative, questioning and imaginative approach to their work.

As an educational institute and cultural centre, the notion of ‘making public’ is core to the activities of PZI. Exhibitions, programming, conferences and publications on a national and international level are a means of sharing and expanding research beyond the confines of academia. At the same time, the programme provides the very necessary speculative space for reflection and knowledge-building that is only made possible through an academic framework like the Piet Zwart Institute.