Why did you opt for studying at WdKA?
When I stumbled upon the website four years ago I was immediately convinced by the range of tantalizing study fields to choose from. I went to two open days before I got to apply for admission, kept dreaming and waited until my Dutch was good enough to apply. And by this time the Academy had already become more internationally orientated, so I was admitted anyway. The Academy has a very personal feel, there's very little presence of hierarchy, by this I mean that it isn't really intimidating to approach anyone for questions or just general conversation, be it final year students, workshop technicians, teachers or even the dean! This freedom of passage echoes through to the way of working too.
Amy Hill, South Africa
Fine Art student, First year
How is Rotterdam similar to or different from your hometown? What do you like or dislike about it?
In a sense it feels like the Cape Town of Europe. There is a beautiful contrast between styles of architecture, A LOT OF WIND and it's an international hub for trade, culture and the arts, just like Cape Town. The great thing about where the Academy is situated is that you can find absolutely anything you need. Although it requires a special skill to scout and source the goods, services or people you seek, within a few months you will have picked up on how this works, and that Rotterdam is your sandbox mode in real life! Possibilities are endless here...
Name three of your favourite places in Rotterdam, your personal hidden gems.
Vessel 11. It is a red ship by the waterside that is also an English pub and restaurant with a rather special vibe (and great G&T's).
The market just opposite the Academy isn't really a hidden gem, because it's huge but ever since I have discovered it I have been going there almost every week. Cheap, fresh and really wide variety of almost anything you can imagine.
Kralingse Bos. It is a true gem of a park just outside the city center. It has enough walkways and bicycle roads to get properly lost in for a whole day. Sometimes there are festivals or you might even run into a lone stranger playing a musical instrument on a park bench.
Name your favorite working space within WdKA.
Definitely the Ceramic and Material studio. I love the smell of resin in the mornings. There's always good music playing and people from all disciplines actively creating stunning artworks. To me it is the most stimulating place to work productively and patiently.
Dutch people are…?
...straight forward, painfully honest, patriotic and quite adamantly tolerant. The first time I came to the Netherlands it took some time to fully grasp their ways of being. I can relate to that and I can appreciate that they are so different than any other nation.
Amy Hill
as seen by Roel van Eekelen (Illustration graduate, 2015)
