Dilara: 'After my bachelor’s degree, I wanted to help others grow'
Dilara Astam studied Fashion Design at ArtEZ in Arnhem. She now teaches Fine Art and Design at a secondary school in Helmond, runs her own creative practice and is studying for a master's degree in Education in Arts. She is doing this through the Accelerated Combination Route Bachelor-Master Education in Arts (part-time), which combines the shortened part-time bachelor's programme Fine Art and Design in Education with the master's programme. Her journey shows how you can build on a bachelor's degree in the arts and shape your next steps around your own professional practice.
Fashion Design is about more than making clothes
‘I’ve been creative from a young age,’ Dilara explains. ‘The preparatory programme at ArtEZ helped me realise quite quickly that I wanted to go into fashion. So choosing Fashion Design was an easy decision.’ During the programme, she discovered that fashion is about much more than making clothes. ‘The programme is very conceptual. You don’t start with a garment, but with an idea. Why are you making something? What do you want to say with it? Only then do you translate that into form, materials and eventually a design.’
‘That way of working taught me to think much more carefully about my process and the choices I make. It gives your work more depth. At the same time, I found the programme really intense. It takes blood, sweat and tears. You work long hours and have to take a lot of responsibility for your own progress. That’s when you realise that creativity alone isn’t enough in the fashion industry. You also need discipline and the ability to handle pressure.’
Developing my own practice and exploring arts education
‘After graduating from Fashion Design, I started my own practice, ASTAM. I work across fashion, art and technology, exploring things like how digitalisation and AI influence the creative process. I’d also been guiding others in my practice for quite some time. I ran workshops, worked with interns and helped people develop their ideas and creative processes. But I was mostly doing it intuitively. I realised I wanted to understand more about how learning works. How do you help someone grow? What choices do you make along the way, and why? Those questions became increasingly important to me, especially as I could see how the professional field was changing. Everything is becoming more digital, but that also creates a greater need for craftsmanship and making things by hand. For me, it all came together. I thought: I want to develop the educational side of my work more seriously.’
A pathway that fits around what you already do
‘Because I already had a bachelor's degree in the arts from a university of applied sciences, I chose the accelerated combination route. It’s a combined pathway that connects the shortened part-time bachelor's programme Fine Art and Design in Education with the master's programme Education in Arts. What’s great is that you have one fixed day of classes each week, alongside one day a week of teaching practice. That made it possible to combine my studies with my job and my own creative practice. You study alongside people from different backgrounds in art and design, including visual artists and designers. Everyone already has a bachelor's degree in the arts from a university of applied sciences and professional experience, but they don't yet have a teaching qualification. That means everyone has made a very conscious decision to be there, and you can explore subjects in much greater depth together. For me, it wasn’t just about getting a teaching qualification. More than anything, I wanted to understand my own work better, both in the classroom and in my own business. In the end, you gain both a teaching qualification and a master's degree. So if you already have a bachelor's degree, it's a logical and efficient route.’
Everything overlaps, and that’s exactly how it should be
‘My weeks are pretty full. On Mondays, I study and travel to Zwolle for the master's programme Education in Arts. I've now completed the shortened part-time bachelor's programme Fine Art and Design in Education, which allowed me to progress to the master's. The rest of the week, I teach and work on my own practice. The biggest challenge is switching between those different roles, but that's also what I enjoy about it. I like working on several things at once, and I get energy from coming up with quick, creative solutions. Both teaching and running a business constantly put you in situations where you have to adapt and take action.’
‘To me, these don't feel like separate activities, because everything I do is connected to where I want to go. I'm really building towards something bigger. I see ASTAM as a platform that brings together fashion, art, technology and education. Eventually, I want to establish an academy where these disciplines strengthen each other. A place where you don't just learn how to make things, but also how to think, research and understand what you're doing and why. Where education is more closely connected to the world we live in today and the world of the future.’
Don't start making straight away. First, understand what you're doing
‘The programme has changed the way I work. I no longer rely on intuition alone. I think much more carefully about the choices I make. Why am I making something, and what do I want to communicate through it? I bring that approach into my secondary school lessons too. Instead of asking students to start making something straight away, I encourage them to explore what they want to do and why. I ask questions and get them to sketch, experiment and look at things again from a different perspective. I use concept development and material research, just as I do in my own practice. This helps students understand what they're doing and explain the reasoning behind their choices.’
Why it matters
‘The best moment in the classroom is when a student who was unsure of themselves suddenly creates something they're proud of. That's when you see the difference you can make. I've also noticed that many people don't realise how many opportunities are out there. I didn't know either when I was younger. That's exactly why I think it's important to share my story. There are different routes you can take, and this is just one of them. But it shows that you can continue to develop and build on an arts degree.’
Dilara realised that her work and vision were being recognised when she won the Lodewijk van der Grinten Talent Award. ‘That was a real surprise. I do a lot of my work behind the scenes, so I wasn't expecting it at all. But becoming more visible also gives you the opportunity to show others what you do and what's possible.’
Not sure? Come and see for yourself
‘If you're unsure, I'd say: just come and have a look and talk to people. You'll soon get a sense of whether it's right for you. Studying arts education also helps you develop as a maker, because you learn to reflect more deeply on your own work and creative process. That helps you make more considered choices and gives your work a clearer direction. And that's incredibly valuable.’
