Dorothea van der Meulen steps down as director after seventeen years

After seventeen years, Dorothea van der Meulen is bidding farewell to Minerva Academy. As the longest-serving director of an art academy in the Netherlands, she played a key role in developing Minerva into the international and socially engaged academy it is today. Her departure coincides with the formation of the new Art, Design & Space cluster within Hanze University, with Ingeborg Walinga as director.

In her early years, Academie Minerva received a new boost with its relocation to the former Groninger Museum building and the renovation of the Zuiderdiep, which noticeably increased student satisfaction. These are the buildings in which we will celebrate the academy's farewell with the professional field and partners on 9 December. 

In the years that followed, Minerva grew into a bilingual academy with approximately one thousand students, half of whom are international. This internationalisation brought new perspectives and greater diversity in terms of backgrounds and positions. Themes such as diversity and inclusion, climate, conflict and social justice became a natural part of the curriculum and the work of students. 

Although she is stepping down as director of Academie Minerva, Dorothea will remain associated with Hanze University of Applied Sciences for the foreseeable future. Until her retirement later in 2026, she will work as programme director for the new cluster, where she will build bridges between the Art & Society knowledge centre and the NoorderRuimte knowledge centre, which she has directed for the past ten years. She will also become chair of the Supervisory Board of De Nieuwe Kolk cultural centre in Assen.

On behalf of the entire team at Minerva Art Academy, we would like to thank her for all her hard work, her tireless dedication and her vision. We will miss her greatly and wish her success in her work as programme director at both knowledge centres.