The diary of a Scot in Amsterdam

This was it; after two years of studying, and the assessments earlier in the week, we were to receive our diplomas and launch the publications on which we have been working. This important event took place at Casco in Utrecht, a nice middle point between the extremes of Enschede and Amsterdam.

In the end, various reasons conspired to create a situation where very few students were actually in a position to graduate; thankfully, I was one of them.

The afternoon began with a discussion between us, the students, guest publication co-ordinator Emily Pethick, and the artist Tomo Savic-Gecan. This was specifically about the idea of launching a publication as an alternative to exhibiting, since the idea of a graduation show is deliberately avoided by the DAI. Following this we had a little party with some music, drinks, food, and distribution of the publications. I did not have so many with me, since I have been struggling for the last two days to get them finished; each individual one needs special treatment from my machine, which “signs” each copy. Since it is so slow, I only had around 60 of the 200 copies printed with me.

During all these celebrations and increasing level of drunkenness, Gabriëlle took us each aside one by one to present our diplomas, various pieces of paper, and also a little present. Mine was a book about how to deal with anxiety about what other people think about you. I would like to say that this is not something which troubles me but that would not really be true.

After everyone was gone, and the dishes were done, we all met for a drink at a bar elsewhere in Utrecht before saying our final goodbyes. Although many of us will remain in Amsterdam, there are others who I may really not see again for a long time if ever, which made things a bit sad. Still, all good things come to an end.