The Beginning
Visit The Beginning | Graduation Show
During the annual graduation exhibition, the graduates of the Academy of Arts Maastricht and the Academy of Architecture Maastricht show you how they look at the outside world, react and position themselves with different eyes. They invite the visitor to engage in conversation. The nature of the exhibited works varies from performance, installation, graphic design, illustration, photo, film, sound art, products, materials, object to theoretical reflection.
This year the exhibition will take place 2-5 July at ENCI, Lage Kanaaldijk 115, Maastricht. Graduates of the Autonomous Fine Arts programme will present their work from 3–5 July at Kruisherengang 12, Maastricht.
The Beginning emerged from a simple yet powerful question: where do you begin when taking a new step? Not by immediately choosing or performing, but first by observing. Our graduates take the time and space to look, to explore, and to position themselves in relation to their surroundings and their own identities.
The name refers to that point of departure. The graduation exhibition does not merely mark the end of a course of study, but rather the beginning of what follows. Here, graduates present who they are, what they stand for, and the direction they choose to pursue. In this way, The Beginning becomes, year after year, the starting point for new perspectives and new stories.
Since 2021, this layer of meaning has been added to the traditional graduation exhibition. Each year, the baton is passed on to give it fresh expression.
Programme The Beginning 2026
Opening
2 July: 7:00 PM
Graduation Show
3 and 4 July: 10:00 AM – 6:00 PM
5 July: 11:00 AM – 5:00 PM
Academy Awards Ceremony
3 July: 3:00 PM – 6:00 PM
Alumni Drinks
5 July: 2:00 PM – 5:00 PM
Location
ENCI, Lage Kanaaldijk 115, Maastricht
Please note: Graduates of the Autonomous Fine Arts programme will present their work from 3–5 July at Kruisherengang 12, Maastricht. Opening is on 1 July at 5:00 PM.
More about the Academy of Arts Maastricht
Studying visual arts means that you are constantly looking for your personal and artistic position. In all our programmes you will be given the space to develop this and to profile yourself as an art professional. Take a look at the offer you can choose from.
The history of the Academy of Arts Maastricht
More about the history of the Academy of Arts Maastricht (formerly Maastricht Institute of Arts) in The Braid. This website includes all graduates since 1823.
#TheBeginning2025
Artwork by Dave de Leeuw
Questions? Mail us: kunstacademiemaastricht@zuyd.nl