Xander Willemsen wins Academy Award, Shurendi Statie wins Thesis Award at ArtEZ Academy of Art & Design Zwolle

This year, the committee highlighted the remarkable number of students who worked across the boundaries of their own disciplines. According to the committee, this reflects not only the students' ambition, but also the programmes and lecturers who create space for experimentation and collaboration.

Academy Award for an original design approach

The Academy Award was presented to Xander Willemsen. According to the committee, he transcends the boundaries of his programme by developing a distinctive design methodology of his own. He uses his two-dimensional practice as a means of working spatially, creating a unique interplay between image and space. His curious, open-ended approach results in an original body of work that continues to surprise.

In addition to the winner, the committee gave special recognition to Renée Wiersma (Graphic Design) for the social relevance and clear visual language of her graduation project, and to Thijs Mooij (Comic Design), whose playful and research-driven approach made a strong impression.

Thesis Award for research into multiple identities

The Thesis Award was presented to Shurendi Statie for her graduation thesis and artistic research project Un ñapa di mi kultura. The jury praised the way she convincingly connects theoretical research with her artistic practice.

Inspired by the ideas of Caribbean philosopher Édouard Glissant, Shurendi argues for the decolonisation of arts education. According to the jury, her research goes beyond theoretical analysis. She also develops concrete methods for putting these ideas into practice, reflects critically on their application, and continues to refine this approach.

The jury described her thesis as "theoretically rigorous, socially necessary and practically applicable". This enabled Shurendi to distinguish herself from all the other nominees.

Nominees

The other nominees for the Academy Award were: Kai Bos (full-time Fine Art and Design in Education), Renée Wiersma (Graphic Design), Kim Dijkstra (Illustration Design), Thijs Mooij (Comic Design), Gabriëlla Gould (Animation Design), Minji Kim (Master's programme Education in Arts), Anna Slikker (Associate degree Interior Design) and Christa Logtenberg (Master's programme Education in Arts).

The other nominees for the Thesis Award were: Marianne Kroese (full-time Fine Art and Design in Education), Sylvana Versteege (Graphic Design), Danyk Minnesma (Illustration Design), Na Lin (Comic Design), Dior Riet (Animation Design), Allium van der Linden (Master's programme Interior Architecture), Isa van der Heijden (Bachelor's programme Interior Architecture) and Rongrong (Sarah) Li (Master's programme Education in Arts).

Curious to see the work of all graduating students?