Advertising & Beyond | Graduation Series 2025
Thijs van Heerde (22) never quite fit the mold of a traditional advertising student and he’s fine with that. Born in Taiwan and raised in Nijmegen, Thijs arrived at WdKA at 18, drawn by the promise of creativity with a clear purpose. “I came for the advertising,” he says, “but I stayed for the ‘beyond.’”
Now in his fifth year, Thijs has taken time to grow into his direction. Alongside his studies, he co-founded Snackbar Esthetica with friends - a creative collective focused on craft, collaboration, and design. “At some point I realised I wasn’t really interested in making ads,” he says. “I was more drawn to working autonomously in painting, poetry, video, sculpture. What started as conceptual thinking shifted into making, into craft.”
His graduation project reflects that shift. It’s a series of large-scale paintings rooted in the emotional landscape of memory, death, and digital legacy - an exploration of what we preserve, and what we leave behind.
What We Keep
Thijs’s graduation work began with a question: “How can my subjective memories be translated into my visual form?” Often drawing from his memories, he describes the feelings attached to them are often entangled with iconographies and poetries that define their essence. In the process of trying to pour these memories onto canvases, getting deeply in touch with his own craft and visual language stands at the forefront of his project.
Through his painting, Thijs attempts to ‘catch’ the essence of his memory for this project- imagery where nostalgia, distortion, and personal history intersect. “I try to stay as close to myself as possible,” he says. “The goal isn’t to say something loud. It’s to make something that holds meaning for me and, in turn, for others: a memory and a feeling.”
Finding His Frame
Developing the concept didn’t come easily. “At first, I was stuck,” Thijs admits. “I had this pressure to make something important, and I didn’t know what that looked like. It wasn’t until I let go of that and focused on what I actually care about that the project started to move.”
Helpful advice came from a tutor: write a table of contents before writing your research. “That really grounded me,” he says. “Even though I’m not sure I’m a research-based maker, having that frame gave me direction.”
Now deep into the making phase, Thijs is working on new canvases that reflect this layered, visual investigation. The studio has become a second home, and the act of painting a way of sorting through his own questions about memory and authorship.
A Quiet Form of Purpose
Thijs credits WdKA with shaping his way of thinking, but not in the way you might expect. “In the early years I absorbed so much. I came straight from high school and didn’t really know what it meant to make art,” he says. “The academy taught me to analyse, to reflect, to value things I hadn’t seen before. It made me love art more deeply.”
Over time, he also began to challenge some of the unspoken rules of art school. “There’s a lot of emphasis on having a clear ‘purpose’ by raising social issues, solving problems,” he explains. “But I think some of the best projects are more subtle. They don’t have to shout. Craft can be a purpose in itself.”
He’s drawn inspiration from people outside of his major too, especially friends working in product design. “If you don’t totally fit inside your major, it can be easy to feel lost. But your network is everything. Build relationships, feed your inspiration, and find your own direction.”
What’s Next?
Thijs doesn’t have a rigid post-graduation plan, but he knows where his energy is going. “Right now I’m in a great flow with the studio. I’m excited to focus on my painting practice and see where that leads.”
In the long term, he envisions a future of creative independence: “I will keep painting, doing shows and develop Snackbar Esthetica further”.
Advice for Future Students
“Build your own network,” Thijs says. “That’s what helped me the most. Surround yourself with people who inspire you, even if they’re outside your department. Stay curious, stay connected, and don’t expect the school to do all the work for you. It’s up to you to find what drives you.”
He adds, “Open yourself up to the city too. I started working in a bar and met so many people that way. Don’t stay inside the art academy bubble. The world outside has a lot to offer.”
