History
De Ateliers, formerly known as Ateliers ‘63, was founded by artists in 1963 in Haarlem. It is the oldest so called ‘artists work space’ in the Netherlands. Discontent with the massive and academic art school education in those days, which was not at all in synch with new and exciting developments within the visual arts, the initiators sought to create a new structure that would meet the need of beginning artists to be directly in contact with colleagues, within a professional working environment. Under the supervision of former tutor artists such as Edgar Fernhout, Jan Dibbets, Stanley Brouwn, Carel Visser and Toon Verhoef, De Ateliers developed into a high profile institution. During the 1980s, De Ateliers served as an exemplary model for reorganisations in art schools and post academic programs in the Netherlands. In recent decades, De Ateliers strengthened its international reputation with the dedicated contributions of former tutor artists such as Marlene Dumas, Georg Herold and Steve McQueen.
Building
Since 1992 De Ateliers is housed in Amsterdam, at the Stadhouderskade. The monumental building was designed in 1875 by architect Bastiaan de Greeff. It is the oldest and most beautiful art school building in the Netherlands, located close to Rijksmuseum, Stedelijk Museum and Van Gogh Museum. In the fifties, an extension to the building was designed by Gerrit Rietveld.