The Rijksakademie van beeldende kunsten in Amsterdam is an artists’ institute for national and international top talent. The name Rijksakademie (1870) refers to the classical Akademia, a place where philosophers, academics and artists meet to test and exchange ideas and knowledge. It has three statutory functions:
By offering artistic, theoretical and technical support the Rijksakademie creates an environment in which approximately fifty talented artists from all over the world can, under optimum circumstances for a maximum of two years, work on deepening, broadening and accelerating their profession – individually and socially.
The Prix de Rome is the oldest and most generous award for young artists and architects (up to 35 years) in the Netherlands. The mission of the Prix de Rome is tracking talent and identifying trends in art and architecture in an international context. The four shortlist artists nominated are offered a residency in the Rijksakademie to develop new work for the final presentation.
The Rijksakademie manages collections (library, art and other collections and artists’ documentation) that are open to the public. The Rijksakademie is a member of Res Artis, the International Association of Residential Art Centres, which it co-founded in 1993.