Willem De Kooning Academy Rotterdam

The Willem de Kooning Academy Rotterdam is part of the Rotterdam University of Applied Sciences. It is regarded as one of the most prestigious artschools in the country and the number 1 in Advertising and Copywriting. The Willem de Kooning Academy Rotterdam offers a number of bachelor courses in higher education. Within the four main study routes Fine Art, Design, Fine Art & Design Teacher Training and Leisure Management, you can choose between 13 majors: Fine Art, Photography, Advertising, Animation, Audiovisual Design, Graphic Design, Illustration, Spatial Design, Lifestyle, Fashion Design, Product Design, Fine Art & Design Teacher Training and Leisure Management. The Academy, in the past Academie van Beeldende Kunsten (Academy of Visual Arts), carries the name of alumnus Willem de Kooning (1904-1997) since 1998 in honour of the artist. Willem de Kooning was born in north Rotterdam and graduated in Decoration Art (now Styling). He left to New York at the age of 22, and there developed himself as a frontman of the Abstract Expressionism painting movement of the 1940's and 1950's. Part of the Academy is the Piet Zwart Institute, which houses the postgraduate programmes. That part is named after faculty alumni Piet Zwart (1885-1977), who in the 1920 's designed all kinds of things: stamps, print advertising, books, interiors, furniture (including the Bruynzeel kitchen) and also spent a huge amount of time photographing and painting. He has been officially awarded the title Dutch Designer of the 20th Century.