the Belgian Secretary for Public Works. Then it was time for the restorers to move in. These had been appointed by the Régie des Batiments de l’ Etat( 1987) and were represented by architect Christian Lelubre. The architect who assumed the task of drawing up the restoration plans, taking Horta’ s work into consideration and avoiding‘ fake classicism’, was Pierre Van Assche. The days of carpenters, glaziers, painters and floorers are long gone now. The building has become a magical place once more. More than twenty-five years have elapsed since the opening of the Belgian Comic Strip Center. Twenty-five years at the service of comic strips and Art Nouveau. Twenty-five years of encounters. Twenty-five years of forging links between the world of comic strip artists and their readers. Twenty-five fascinating years for those who work at the Center. A promotional tool, an exhibition venue, a research center, a cultural ambassador: in more than ten years the Belgian Comic Strip Center has become a major museum with international appeal, one of Belgium’ s most popular tourist attractions with 200,000 visitors a year … and government subsidies which amount to less than 10 % of the working budget.
Temporary exhibitions Dedicated to a particular artist, movement or theme, or to one of the many heroes of the comic strip, the temporary exhibitions at the Belgian Comics Art Museum can be found on the third floor. At the moment, there is an exhibition about life and work of the Belgian comic strip artist Frank Pé( until September 4th). Another one is featuring the fascinating graphic novels of the French artist Étienne Davodeau( until November 27th). On September 20th Cover Art will start, a temporary exhibition about the most beautiful comic strip covers. There comes a day when a comic strip reader is so struck by the cover image of an album that he sees it as part and parcel of the album illustrations. When that happens it’ s for life. Cover Art must find a tricky balance between the author’ s vision and what the editor, art director and head of marketing want. Is its sole to purpose to catch the eye of the prospective purchaser or should it be a work of art in itself, an accurate representation of the graphic narrative? This interactive exhibition, set to make waves on the social media, will bring visitors face to face with this dilemma, which authors and editors encounter on a regular basis. •
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