DAE congratulates the BA graduates of 2021
The stage of the graduation ceremony was marked with dots, a reminder of the continuing regulations and restrictions that this group of graduates has learned to work within. This moment of physical gathering marked a celebration of their achievements and the community they have formed over the past four years. With 56 graduates, the class of 2021 is—as recognised by Creative Director Joseph Grima—characterised by their strength, adaptability, and resilience.
The ceremony began with opening remarks from Raf de Keninck, who reflected upon the debate and attention within the Academy around diversity and inclusivity. De Keninck offered congratulations to the new graduates and extended thanks to the staff, administration, coordinators, studio leaders and tutors for their efforts.
Joseph Grima spoke of the changeable circumstances of the past year and acknowledged the individual and collective dedication to moving forward regardless. He also noted the emotional and transformative nature of this year’s graduation works, many of which draw upon personal experiences to explore complex social, political, environmental, and cultural issues. The graduates have engaged in in-depth research, questioning and sense-making (or nonsense-making, in some cases) to produce engaging and tangible projects that provide or provoke a reimagining of the world around us.
One prevalent theme within this year’s graduation projects was an investigation into the process and underlying cultural effects of othering. These projects range from the whimsical—such as Miles Worner’s ‘The Way of the Duck’ (Leisure, Cum Laude), in which Worner establishes a philosophy and practice based upon embodying the care-free, collectively spontaneous nature of ducks—to the sociopolitical, such as Moonseop Seo’s work, ‘The Ephemeral Wall’ (Well Being, Cum Laude), in which Seo explores the physicality and psychology of borders, particularly investigating his own relationship to the border between North Korea and South Korea, offering a new reality in the form of a boundary made with soap bubbles.
Another theme was a merging of histories and modernity, often offering alternative archival forms. Leonardo Maher’s project ‘Glimpses into Unfamiliar Passions’ (Public Private, Cum Laude) investigates the history of homosexuality in western history and civilisation, lending form to a legacy of techniques, tactics, and symbols used by a community throughout time. In contrast, Delphine Lejeune’s ‘Through the Social Life of the Seashell’ (Well Being, Melkweg prize nominee) explores the relationship between observing nature and self-discovery through a visual and digital archive of the seashell as a natural, speculative object and as a unit of value circulation.
An important aspect of the graduation ceremony is the announcement of the Cum Laude graduates and the nominees for the Rene Smeets, Melkweg, and Workshop prizes. This year saw Ninon Oudin, Michelle Se Yoon Kee, Wendy Owusu, Frederik Pesch, Clodagh Read and Noam (Youngrak) Son named Cum Laude of the Communication department. Also named Cum Laude were Miles Worner from Leisure, Sina Gebrodt from Motion, Leonardo Maher and Charlie Flotho from Public Private and Barbara Stredova and Moonseop Seo from Well Being. Solène Bonnet took home the Workshop award, this year in the form of a lightbulb-headed figure.
Nominees for the Rene Smeets prize include Elena Naumann with ‘Left To Use’, Michelle Kee with ‘Learning By Doing It’, Eliott Vallin with ‘Flax Linen’, Ianis Dobrev with ‘Cloud Emission’, Yousra Laissaoui with ‘Colour Scarcity’, Charlie Flotho with ‘Circular Landscape’ and Rosana Escobar with ‘Unraveling the Coffee Bag’.
Nominees for the Melkweg prize include Ruben Warnshuis with ‘Industrial Devolution’, Frederik Pesch with ‘Virtual Craft’, Nancy Green with ‘Party Pyjamas’, Filips Stanislavskis with ‘A Planetary Breath’, Sina Gebrodt with ‘Loving Objects’, Leonardo Maher with ‘Glimpses into Unfamiliar Passions’, and Delphine Lejeune with ‘Through the Social Life of the Seashell’.
The 2021 graduates will show their projects later this year at the DAE Graduation Show, which takes place during Dutch Design Week from 16 October to 24 October.
