©Martin Corlazzoli
Letters are an indispensable part of our lives. You see them everywhere: in newspapers, by the roadside, on posters, in letters and so on. Their shape and design reinforce the message of the text. In fact, they are an art form in themselves but often go unnoticed. That is something you'll learn more about in this exhibition. You will also get to take a look behind the scenes and see how the Museum of Industry catalogues and digitises the letters in its collection.
Nowadays, letters are created digitally. Until the 20th century, whenever text needed to be printed, physical letters were made from wood or other materials. In this exhibition, you'll learn all about the history of printing with wooden letters since the 19th century. Get to know the museum's versatile collection of wooden letters and how they are used to produce posters. After that, you can try using letter stamps and collage letters for yourself in the hands-on printing workshop.
Jan Vermandere spent six months as artist in residence, in the printing workshop at the Museum of Industry. While there, he created a series of TypeFaces that are the eye-catching feature of the exhibition.
The exhibition also zooms in on the work of six graphic design students from the LUCA School of Arts (Ghent). They each chose a wooden font from the museum collection and created a digital version of it. The exhibition will give you an insight into the work process they used.
‘Typo Belgiëque’ by Jo De Baerdemaeker will show you how typography in Belgium has evolved since the 19th century.
This activity takes place on a location within the low emission zone
Are you driving to Ghent? First check whether you may enter the city centre with your vehicle. Clean vehicles may enter the city centre free of charge, polluting vehicles have to pay. Is your vehicle allowed to enter, but do you not have a Belgian or Dutch number plate? You will ALWAYS have to register!
Find out all there is to know about Ghent’s low emission zone (LEZ) here
The information continues beneath the illustrations.
Agenda
Entrance Fee
Basic price
€ 9
Reduction groups min. 15 pers.
€ 8
Gentenaars
€ 5
Reduction -26 years
€ 2.5
Reduction -19 years
free
Reduced rate for escorts accompanying persons with disabilities
free
Info for groups
A combined tour of typography and printing
A guided visit to the temporary exhibition ‘TypeFaces’ and the permanent exhibition ‘Three Centuries of Graphic Industry’.
Letterpress workshop with a guided tour of the exhibition
A short visit to the temporary exhibition ‘TypeFaces’ and a Letterpress workshop where you will discover even more about typography, relief printing, typesetting and design and can print your own poster.
