On 14 November 2024, Femke Herregraven has defended the outcomes of her CrD research at the Gerrit Rietveld Academie. She presented the results to an assessment committee, which assessed her research project 'The Evacuated' positively. Femke Herregraven is the second artist to be granted the title of Creator Doctus. Herregraven’s research was supervised by Flavia Dzodan (research professor at Rietveld Sandberg Research) on behalf of the Gerrit Rietveld Academie and supported by Chris Julien (researcher, philosopher and activist) on behalf of Waag Futurelab. The CrD trajectory of Femke Herregraven is co-funded by the Creative Industries Fund NL with Waag Futurelab as the social partner.

The CrD trajectory ‘The Evacuated’ investigates, in Herregraven's words, how the ‘catastrophe’ can be overcome as anxious monetized eventuality in the current ‘discourse of doom’, and instead be reactivated as a plot device to create a sudden turn in the dominant narratives of techno-capitalism and knowledge.

The committee commended both the breadth and depth of Herregraven’s practice, praising its commitment to the investigation of phenomena that pose a resistance to being tracked, described or represented. The committee recognised Herregraven's contributions to the artistic field as well as other disciplines, from finance studies to media theory, challenging entrenched approaches and proposing new models of thought and practice.

Supervisor Flavia Dzodan: “When Femke and I began working together, we approached the CrD process as inherently relational. We didn’t see supervision as a means of control but as an opportunity to take on this path side by side. My role was to challenge Femke while also supporting her through what I’d describe as ‘thinking together.’ Without a predefined footprint or template, the process was both thought provoking and liberating. We experienced it as a rare chance for us to learn collaboratively. I can confidently say that the CrD trajectory transformed my research practice as much as it did Femke’s, and I am profoundly grateful for the space we were given to make this possible.”

Herregraven's exhibition, Dialect, is currently on show at Radius, Center for Contemporary Art and Ecology, Delft.

The following committee members formed the defense committee: Jeff Diamanti (Assistant Professor of Environmental Humanities at the University of Amsterdam), Ana Maria Gomez Lopez (interdisciplinary artist, researcher, and educator), Katja Kwastek (professor of modern and contemporary art history at Vrije Universiteit), Sabine Niederer (Professor of Visual Methodologies at Amsterdam University of Applied Sciences & Program manager at ARIAS), Emily Pethick (director of the Rijksakademie van Beeldende Kunsten), Josien Pieterse (founder and co-director of Framer Framed) and chairman Tom Vandeputte (research professor and head of the Critical Studies department at Sandberg Instituut).

Creator Doctus (CrD) is a project developed at the Gerrit Rietveld Academie that seeks to realise a new European third cycle award for higher arts education. The award runs parallel to the existing Doctor of Philosophy (PhD), valorising the output of artists as high-quality research that results in the creation of new insight at the forefront of art practice. The three-year research trajectory does not lead to a written dissertation, but to a collection of artistic works or projects. These provide answers to research questions formulated by the artist on the basis of a research area marked by a social partner. On September 28th 2020, Yael Davids was the first artist to be granted the title of Creator Doctus with her research 'A Daily Practice'. On 14 November 2024, Femke Herregraven became the second artist to receive the title of Creator Doctus.