On April 20th, the first year cohort in Dusseldorf had our final group crits of the semester with professor Jutta Haeckel (and Oscar the dog). The semester is wrapping up with final presentations coming up, and flights home next week. We’re looking forward to returning to the studio in September!
This week, the first years visited the nearby city of Cologne (Köln) to see the famous Cologne Cathedral and visit the Museum Ludwig. A highlight of the visit was the museum’s sprawling exhibition of Yayoi Kusama‘s entire oeuvre, from her early paintings and drawings all the way up to her recent installation work. We visited the Rhine boardwalk as well as a few galleries including Galerie Boisseree, with new work by german painter Imi Knoebel.
Last week we had a studio visit from the director and curator of the Neue Galerie Gladbeck, Sabine Schmidt. We met Sabine earlier in the week at the Gladbeck gallery’s opening of the exhibition: How many do you see? by German abstract painter Aneta Kajzer.
Sabine generously visited with each of the first year grads individually and gave feedback on our work. We also chatted as a group with Sabine sharing insights into her experiences and practices as a gallery curator and art critic, and how it may be relevant to us as emerging artists. Thank you Sabine!
This week, Jutta & the first year grads visited the Bonn Kunstmuseum, a short train ride from Dusseldorf. We met two museum curators and got a private tour of MƎTAATEM, an exhibition by painter & multi-disciplinary artist Kerstin Bratsch. We also got to stay after the visit for the opening of a the new exhibition showing work by french artists Tohé Commaret, Sarah-Anaïs Desbenoit and Pol Taburet.
The first year grads have been visiting many galleries and museums surrounding Düsseldorf, including the Kunstverein Leverkusen Schloss Morsbroich, Insel Hombroich, Langen Foundation Neuss, and Die Neue Galerie Gladbeck. We got to meet the curator of the Kunstverein, and had a studio visit with the director and curator of Neue Galerie Gladbeck. We’re looking forward to visiting Bonn & Cologne in the coming week!
The 1st Year Grads traveled to Brussels from Feb 26-27, 2026 to visit museums and galleries. We visited the Old Masters & Magritte Museums as well as Bozar, Neno Mier Gallery, and Sept Gallery. Brussels is a lively and walkable city with iconic architecture ranging from Gothic & Baroque to Art Nouveau and Bauhaus, with incredible murals and street art. We enjoyed belgian waffles and visiting the famous Manneken Pis fountain!
The first year grads are three weeks into the semester in Düsseldorf! We’re enjoying the abundant studio time in our creative den. The studios are well lit and spacious, easily accessible with public transport. The studio kitchen and materials room are replete with tea and art supplies (and even a bike!) from the previous grads, which we greatly appreciate!
We’ve also been to visit the Düsseldorf K20 & K21 Museums with our professor & guide Jutta Haeckel. The K20 has an impressive permanent collection of iconic 20th century work, and the K21’s curation of their Grund und Boden (Land & Soil) was especially impactful, with multi-disciplinary work by artists including Ai Weiwei & Tadáskía.
On Sunday, February 1st, 2026 our 1st-year MFA cohort landed in Düsseldorf to begin the Spring semester.
We were given a tour of the neighborhood and enjoyed an authentic welcome dinner at Brauerei im Füchschen in the Düsseldorf Altstadt with Painting faculty & staff Jutta Haeckel, Stefan Kürten, and Beatrice Richter.
During the week we received the keys to our studios, got settled in, visited the Kunstakademie annual exhibition, and learned a bit from Stefan about the art and history of Düsseldorf. We are very excited to begin our three months in this beautiful city!
PAINTING MFA Alfred/Düsseldorf 