De Ateliers, formerly known as Ateliers '63, was established in Haarlem in 1963 by several visual artists. Dissatisfied with the mass-oriented and formal art education of that time, the initiators aimed to create a structure that would meet the need for beginning artists to have direct contacts with colleagues in a professional working environment.
Under former teaching artists such as Edgar Fernhout, Jan Dibbets, Stanley Brouwn and Carel Visser, de Ateliers has developed into a highly reputed institution where approximately twenty participants work, each in a private studio, for a maximum of two years. The permanent staff of tutors makes individual studio visits each Tuesday. Through ongoing discussions about art and artistry, participants are challenged to reflect on their own standpoints and make choices that can be crucial to the further development for their work. Since 1992, De Ateliers has been housed in Amsterdam.