JETSES. KUNST VOOR DE KLAS
CLIENT Nationaal Onderwijsmuseum SIZE 300 m2 SITE Dordrecht
RESPONSIBILITY Concept, design and realization
PHOTOGRAPHY Nationaal Onderwijsmuseum
ASSIGNMENT
The National Education Museum invited me to create the spatial and graphic design for the exhibition Jetses. Art for the Classroom. The exhibition introduces visitors to Cornelis Jetses, best known for the iconic “aap noot mies” illustrations. His work not only shaped the childhood memories of generations, but also played an important role in the development of modern education. His colorful and imaginative drawings perfectly reflected the new educational ideas of the time, in which beauty and art became increasingly important.
Due to the limited timeframe and budget, it was essential to reuse as many materials as possible from the previous exhibition Aaaah!. Minimizing waste became an important starting point throughout the design process.
‘How do I create a new exhibition using as much existing material as possible?
CONCEPT
A traditional exhibition featuring artworks and illustrations within an existing exhibition design requires a different approach. As a result, the concept was strongly shaped by practical constraints, with sustainability as its starting point.
The spatial design is based on the idea of a lifeline. This line literally runs throughout the exhibition, guiding visitors through different phases of Jetses’ life and work: from an introduction, through his development and key achievements, to a concluding reflection.
By repositioning the existing walls from the previous exhibition Aaaah!, an entirely new layout was created that supports the lifeline concept. Throughout the process, the focus remained on presenting the exhibited objects as effectively as possible within the materials already available. Materials such as acrylic, wood, steel supports, and walls from previous exhibitions at the National Education Museum were therefore reused.
The result is an exhibition filled with beautiful sketches, drawings, reading boards, classroom posters, and other illustrations. Visitors discover more about Jetses’ life: why he chose this path, where his strengths lay, and where he struggled.
DESIGN
Inspiration
Lifeline
Floorplan
END RESULT
