Level Up
Level Up is a year-long program that supports emerging artists, designers and creatives in developing their professional practice. Through talks, workshops, and speeddates, participants explore key aspects of entrepreneurship in the arts and gain practical tools for their careers. One ticket is all you need to participate in the full series.
For whom
Fresh out of art school or a design academy and ready to take your practice to the next level? Or are you a self-taught artist, designer or creative, eager with great aspirations? This programma is for you: graduating artists, designers and creatives, those artists, designers and creatives who have recently graduated (less than 3 years ago), or professional self-taught artists, designers and creatives (with a practice younger than 5 year).
Join Level Up for €50 a year here.
PROGRAMME 2026
September | NAP+ & Unfair
Breakfast Speeddates
On Saturday, September 19 2026, at 10AM you will meet the gallerists of art fair NAP+ in Amsterdam during our Breakfast Speeddates. Over coffee and croissants, you’ll join 20-minute rotations with participating gallerists: an informal yet focused way to ask everything you want to know about collaboration, representation, pricing, visibility, and navigating the art market. This is your chance to connect directly with professionals and sharpen your understanding of the dynamics of artist–gallery relationships.
Tour of NAP+
After the speed dates, our Level Up team member Rob will take you on a private tour of the fair, sharing some of his personal highlights and insights along the way.
Unfair
The program will continue later that afternoon at 16:00, at another art fair: Unfair. Unlike traditional art fairs, Unfair does not work with galleries, but gives artists the opportunity to present and represent themselves directly. Here, we will attend the Interview Roulette: a series of conversations between art collectors and the artists whose work they have collected. This will offer a unique perspective on another important side of the art world: collecting.
November | Level Up Day
Join us for our annual Level Up day in november of 2026: a packed programme with talks, speeddates, workshops and network opportunities! This event is part of Level Up, a year-long programme for emerging artists, designers and creatives, to boost your professional skills. The day ends with an informal networking drink. The event is English.
PROGRAMME 2027
February | Online Speeddates
In January, we organize online speeddates for emerging artists, designers and creatives, offering one-on-one conversations with experienced art professionals. These 15-minute sessions provide an opportunity to ask focused questions on topics such as marketing, grant applications, and building a professional network. Based on the registrations, we curate a diverse group of professionals from the art and creative field who are ready to engage with and advise the participants. Previous speeddaters were Lucette ter Borg (art critic at NRC) and Lih-Lan Wong (gallerist at No Man's Art Gallery).
March | Prospects @Art Rotterdam
Level Up members are warmly invited to attend a special visit to Prospects & Art Rotterdam, including access to the exhibition and art fair, as well as an introduction to the Mondriaan Fund.
During Art Rotterdam, the Mondriaan Fund annually presents the exhibition Prospects, which aims to increase the visibility of emerging artists. The 2025 participants of Prospects have each received financial support from the fund through the Artist Start grant, intended for artists who have been working professionally for one to four years. This stipend supports the development of new work and artistic practice, including research, materials, equipment, and projects both in the Netherlands and abroad.
June | Online Speeddates
In June, we organize online speeddates for emerging artists, designers and creatives, offering one-on-one conversations with experienced art professionals. These 15-minute sessions provide an opportunity to ask focused questions on topics such as marketing, grant applications, and building a professional network. Based on the registrations, we curate a diverse group of professionals from the art and creative field who are ready to engage with and advise the participants. Previous speeddaters were Lucette ter Borg (art critic at NRC) and Lih-Lan Wong (gallerist at No Man's Art Gallery).
About Level Up
Level Up is a project by Kunstmest Consulting en Stichting Art Projects in partnership with Nieuwe Instituut. Level Up is generously supported by VandenEnde Foundation, Pictoright, Stichting Ondernemersbelang Rotterdam and Droom en Daad.
