Raise funds for Education during COVID-19

Dear friends,

My name is Raúl Silva I was born and raised in Perú. I am artist and researcher with curatorial and artistic practice, founder and editor of the art and critique website Mañana. I am currently studying my second and last year at the MA DAI Praxis program at ArtEZ University of Arts, a program based on theoretical and practical research with a multidisciplinary critical approach that concentrates its educational sessions in different cities of Europe throughout the year. I came to the Netherlands from Lima, Peru, to be part of this Master program in September 2019. It was really difficult to find a way to cover the huge costs of the program. There is a great lack of support in social and artistic studies from the Peruvian government and very few opportunities for non-EU students to get scholarships in the Netherlands.

+ How did I afford my studies and first year in The Netherlands?

To achieve the payment required by the government and the University, I used my savings but I was also in the need to request monetary loans from family, friends and a bank loan as a last option. The amount I used included tuition fee, but also life insurance, travel tickets and the deposit with which I had to do to justify my living expenses for a year: 20,620 EUR just for my first year of studies.

I started some freelance works as designer and also as soon as I arrived to the Netherlands I had the opportunity to start working in art production assistance and logistics of exhibition projects. This helped me during the first months and framed an interesting projection for my next year expenses. Unfortunately, as soon as Covid-19 began to spread, all my activities got suspended or even canceled. As you may know, the global cultural scene was one of the first and hardest hit by COVID-19 due to its dependence on an active public and international exchange. At the beginning of March, I abruptly stopped receiving any income and I had to move to a communal residence that the program offer to me in Arnhem were I use most of the saves I had from the works and the loan of the first year. 

Fortunately at the beginning of the second year, some of the multiple applications I made had positive results. I got two Study funds and a Fund loan to keep studying in this country: DAI Alumni Fund with 3,700 EUR, Schuurman Schimmel Fund with 2,000 EUR and another loan free of interests of 2,000 EUR that just allowed me to afford the tuition fee of my second year (7500 EUR tuition fee) and some of the expenses I had for living.

+ The loan

Even when I had the opportunity to afford the last year of my studies, the first year debt is still remaining, mainly the Bank loan, that is taking an enormous amount of interest every month. I am supposed to start paying this debt on June, 2021 for the amount of 11,800 EUR, but also the Schuurman Schimmel loan of 2,000 EUR. Both add up to the total of 13,800 EUR.

The difficulty that this situation is producing leads me to the need to open this initiative. I am proposing not just open a free donation campaign but also the possibility to retribute in a way for some collaborations.

+ How can you help me?

+ With any donation that could help me to reach the amount of 13,800 EUR that will be entirely expended on the payment of the bank loan I asked for my studies.

+ I offer two series of projects that I started in 2020, mixed media pieces that are unique works of art and that I will send to the respective collaborators in early 2022. You can get more information about this clicking here: GoFundMe Artworks 

+ Sharing this link with friends or persons you think are able to help.

++ If you want to know more about my work you can check my portfolio here: Raúl Silva - Portfolio 

*2.9% of the transaction fee has been added to the amount of 13,800 EUR.