Testimonials

Karel de Leeuw works as a coordinator Fundraising and Partnerships at Filmtheater ‘t Hoogt

"A key feature of this programme, is the international aspect. It broadens your horizon. After doing my whole Bachelor’s in Utrecht, you only see, hear and speak with people who have had the same courses, teachers and tests. To have people around you that come from all over the world, all with their own stories and backgrounds really stimulates the academic process."

"What I also really liked in the programme is the fact that even though everyone follows the same courses, you can really choose your own angle within each course. I was really interested in alternative ways of raising funds within the arts and each course let me do something that was related to this subject.

As part of a course I had to co-organize the Day of Arts Philanthropy and during this day I heard Roy Cremers, director of voordekunst.nl speak about his online crowdfunding platform. I thought this was really interesting and contacted him afterwards to see if I could do my internship at voordekunst. He was very interested in doing research on patron circles for his online platform, so we agreed that this would be the topic of my research at the internship and my thesis. As I was working at voordekunst, Roy mentioned an agency that specializes in fundraising and also has a traineeship programme. I contacted the agency and after a few interviews I was lucky enough to call myself a fundraising trainee.

After graduating I got stationed at Filmtheater ‘t Hoogt, an arthouse film theatre in the heart of Utrecht. This was exactly the kind of career I had hoped for, so for me everything turned out great."

Kate Armstrong is a student of Arts and Society

"I expected to be involved in a mix of practical and academic learning with a vibrant, interdisciplinary peer-group from all over the world. I think I found this in the Master’s programme, but coming from a practical background, I perhaps hadn’t realised how academic the course would be and I loved the challenge this presented me with. I always felt I had made a good choice in programme, I never doubted my choice and moved from Australia to pursue it."

"Critical thinking and analytical skills which I developed during the programme will be of great advantage in the contemporary work field and come in useful in my professional life. The introduction to ethnographic research methods can also provide me with new and diverse opportunities by broadening my skill set. Through engaging with theory from diverse fields, the programme provided me with a more global, cross-disciplinary perspective, which can make my professional approach unique when compared to traditional, siloed fields.

In the future I’ll work as a independent creative producer - a role that sits between management, production and creative direction. Therein I can utilize the breadth of my skill set and action creative work that can have impact on diverse audiences."

Nicholas Polson works as a Creative Designer/Filmmaker/Graduate Teaching Assistant

"I moved from Australia to the Netherlands to study the Master’s of Arts and Society at Utrecht University. The programe offered me exactly what I was looking for in my academic and artistic pursuits, that is the balance of the theoretical and practical study in the artistic field. This combined with the course’s overriding concern with how to implement art of any discipline to invoke civic change and engagement made the programme irresistible."

"One of the great aspects of this programme, especially as an international student, is the community fostered by the staff and the university. As likeminded individuals passionate about art, politics and enacting positive social change we were encouraged not only to work together creatively and academically within the confines of the course but we were also urged to collaborate out of university hours. In this time I believe my cohort and I have been able to form community projects, business relationships, artistic collaborations and meaningful friendships for our future endeavours.

I have now officially made my home in Utrecht and am working as a Creative Designer, Filmmaker and Graduate Teaching Assistant. I hope to expand and develop my communications business further and continue to help my clients in ethical, environmental and educational institutions to effectively and creatively convey their messages and goals for social change."

Zlil Busnach is a Visual Designer and Creative Producer

"I expected to be intellectually challenged, to learn more about the fields of arts and culture in a global and local perspective and to find out more about the power of culture as a powerful tool for change. I can truly say most of my expectations were filled. I believe the critical research, thinking and writing tools offer me an advantage in my professional prospects. "

"Today I’m able to be confident in my perspectives and analyses of the cultural field, to form an opinion and to write about it, academically and non-academically. Also I now have better comprehension of the cultural policy and the art sector and the way it works locally and internationally. The fact that the programme combines theoretical and practical qualities enables me to develop myself as a professional entrepreneurial creative.

After I finished my internship and even more after I graduated, suddenly I felt have more courage to act as an professional in the field of culture. Soon after graduating I started writing about art, design and culture for an online magazine. The response I got for my articles proved me that my knowledge in the field of arts and society is valuable and relevant to the world we live in, including to the current job market.

At the moment I see myself becoming a programme maker or creative producer as part of a big organisation that fund and supports art and other cultural creative projects. Being the link between the artists or the audience, make the funding process accessible and ‘user friendly’ to initiators in the cultural field."

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