Mission, vision and core values

Mission

Codarts believes that art gains meaning through human connection and inspires movement in the hearts of others. Art opens up and connects different perspectives, enabling new insights. This meaningful movement creates space for reflection and empathy, initiating individual and societal change. 

At Codarts, we see authenticity as the heart of our mission and as the result of everything we strive for. Authenticity develops when people gain insight into themselves and are given the space to develop their capacity to learn, create, and innovate. This requires a solid foundation: artistic and technical versatility, an open and curious attitude, and mental and physical development as an integral component of the artistic profession. 

We therefore provide a safe, high-quality environment that supports dedication, practice, and reflection. Students, teachers, researchers, and staff share responsibility for learning, creating, and living and working together at Codarts. Our promise is to provide an environment where people can flourish and use their personal mastery to inspire meaningful movement in society.

Vision

Codarts is an international university of the arts offering a broad range of study programmes, based in the heart of Rotterdam. We are in continuous dialogue with the international professional field, bringing real-world practice into the institution. At the same time, we help shape the professional field by providing context and interpretation and by helping to shape its direction. Together with our experts and professionals, we grow and strengthen our disciplines. We form a network spanning generations of those who came before us and those we will train in the future - in Rotterdam, across the Netherlands, and far beyond. 

At Codarts, personal mastery is central. This mastery develops when artistic and technical versatility, an open and curious attitude, and mental and physical development reinforce one another. Through this interplay, people are given the space to develop their capacity to learn, create, and innovate, and to gain insight into themselves and their professional and artistic identity. 

Codarts is committed to being a high-quality and professional organisation. We are attentive, identify opportunities and act on them. With intrinsic drive, curiosity, courage, and a shared commitment, we take initiative and ensure that our ambitions are translated into concrete action in education, research, the organisation, and collaboration with the professional field. 

Codarts is a place where disciplines have their own distinctive identity while coming together. It is at these intersections that new perspectives, insights, and connections emerge. In this way, we encourage development, innovation and meaningful movement, both within the institution and in relation to the professional field and society. 

We aim to be an organisation where everyone participates. Students, teachers, researchers, and staff are jointly responsible for the position Codarts holds in the professional field and in society, now and in the future. 

Core values

Trust: We provide a safe and professional environment in which we dare to experiment and give one another the space to do so. We treat each other with respect and are attentive to those around us. We deliver on our promises, while recognising that making mistakes is an essential part of development. That is how we learn and grow. 

Connection: Through connection, we shape education and research by collaborating with each other and the professional field in Rotterdam, the Netherlands, and worldwide. We share knowledge, listen to one another, and learn with and from partners in the arts, healthcare, education, research, and society. We build connections with one another and with the world around us. 

Authenticity: We give everyone the space to express what makes them unique and challenge one another to develop an individual voice: one defined by courage, creative strength, and personal mastery. This means knowing what we stand for, consciously choosing how we express ourselves, and taking responsibility for the impact this has on others. We value differences and diverse perspectives, and we encourage the exploration of artistic boundaries. 

Drive: We are driven, passionate, and full of energy in everything we undertake, approaching our work and one another with care, attention, and respect. This means we never stop learning, set high standards, and actively build sustainable opportunities for future generations of performers and professionals. 

Meaning: We create impact that extends beyond the stage or studio, using talent, creativity, and vision to inspire meaningful movement in society.