AKI alumnus Lieve Hakkers wins the Royal Award for Modern Painting 2025

From left to right: winners Eniwaye Oluwaseyi, Taqwa Ali, and Lieve Hakkers. Photo: Berend van Breda

On January 31, 2025, Fine Art alumnus Lieve Hakkers was announced as one of the three winners of the Royal Award for Modern Painting 2025 (Koninklijke Prijs voor Vrije Schilderkunst 2025). His Majesty the King presented the prestigious art award to the AKI alumnus at the Royal Palace in Amsterdam.

About Lieve Hakkers

After graduating from the Fine Art bachelor’s program at AKI ArtEZ Academy of Art & Design in 2020, Lieve spent two years in residence at De Ateliers in Amsterdam. In her paintings, she explores timelessness, transformation, and self-expression.

From the jury report

The jury admires "the incisiveness with which Hakkers is able to translate her subtle observations of particular moments and feelings into atmospheric images onto which viewers can project their own associations."

Winners and nominees

The other two winners of the award, which is presented annually to three young artists, are Taqwa Ali and Eniwaye Oluwaseyi. Among the nominees were ArtEZ alumni Eddy Eustache (Fine Art) and Thijs Segers (Fine Art).

Two ArtEZ winners in one academic year

This year, for the first time, the Royal Award for Modern Painting was presented in January instead of October. As a result, ArtEZ celebrates two winners in one academic year: Tobias Thaens, also a Fine Art alumnus from AKI ArtEZ Academy of Art & Design, received the same prestigious award in October 2024.

About the Royal Award for Modern Painting

The Royal Award was established in 1871 by King Willem III as the Royal Grant for Painting. Since then, the award has been presented by Queen Regent Emma and all subsequent Dutch heads of state. The prize aims to support and encourage talented young painters by offering them a platform. Visual artists working in the Netherlands up to the age of 35 can compete for the award.