As we currently write 2021, the storming of the U.S. Capitol by supporters of outgoing President Donald Trump means that we have entered an era which is entirely new to the history books. This year started in such an overwhelming fashion that we can hardly comprehend it. The reason behind the storming of the U.S. Capitol makes it all seem practically implausible, namely disagreement about the outcome of the American elections. It is a mix of fake news and a reality show.
When the US army withdrew from Afghanistan, twenty years of war were immediately discarded. It took ten days for the Taliban to take over the entirety of Afghanistan. This resulted in a mass evacuation and shocking images of people in Afghanistan trying to flee the country. This was an event that will unfortunately have ramifications for us in the next ten years.

In several ways, curator-at-large Mathylda Krzykowski challenges the class of 2021: she mixes the classes of 2020 and 2021 into a coherent whole and names the result of this ‘The Beginning’. This was also the title for the series of final exam presentations that will follow, and which focus on the beginning of a new era in the life of young, starting artists. Additionally, that is how a final exam presentation is viewed: Every end is a start.
Director Roland Nachtigäller assesses digital media and technology as the form in which the new generation of makers explore their vulnerabilities, questions, experiments, and research. Furthermore, he shares the view that the practice of visual arts can no longer ignore digital media and technology.