I am studying at the academy of fine arts in maastricht, netherlands. I have been quite happy with that (I am still). we have an awarded design building (wiel arets was the architect), great workshops, a mix of dutch and german students (and some from other foreign countries) and what is the best: tolerant and open-minded professors (if you are not stupid they let you do what you want to do). but the academy is just a department of the educative institute hogeschool zuyd, which has been voted to the best hogeschool in 2007 (maybe they bought somebody over). but since the academy is up to one’s ears in debt, the institute is focusing on efficiency and the quality is fading away. that’s why the students of the academy (the video department was the initiator) came together at 11:55 at the herdenkingsplein, the forecourt of the academy, to demonstrate that they don’t want to accept the situation.

a quotation from the website of the abk maastricht – a hilarious mission when you watch the truth:

‘This World Needs Us!
The above slogan is a core principle for the Academy of Fine Art Maastricht (ABKM); not only because many of the academy ’s graduates find work immediately following their academic time thanks to our collaboration with the professional world, but also because we receive many requests from the business world and (art) institutions to work together with them during their studies. We are happy to exploit this interaction. To do that, we need talented and motivated students.’

‘we won’t let the quality be buried’

r.i.p. quality

11:55 was the time everbody showed up at the herdenkingsplein

the cruxes as a symbol for dead quality