Contact
Frans Masereel Centrum
Masereeldijk 5
2460 Kasterlee (BE)
info [at] fransmasereelcentrum [dot] be
+32 (0) 14 85 22 52
Team
Leen Aerts –  Business Coordinator
Ellen Asaert – Communication and Mediation Officer
Olesia Bachynska – Assistant Communication and visual identity
Ivan Durt – Residency /Studio Coordinator
Nathan Gotlib – Studio Coordinator
Stijn Maes – Director / Senior Curator
Els Maes – Financial administrative assistant
Maria Moorkens – Technical assistant / Concierge
FrĂ©dèrique van Duppen – Project Coordinator
Stefan Willekens – Technical assistant
Eveline Lambrechts, Serge Proth, Lies Vandevorst – art education program
Gaby Gordon-Fox, Sasha Alfille, Laura Holik, Echo Ran, Pina Geyskens – interns 2023
Caroline Coolen, Magali Elali, Natasja Mabesoone, CĂ©line Mathieu, Simon Thompson, Wim Cuyvers, Brenda Guesnet, Fabian FlĂĽckiger, Louis Philippe Van Eeckhoutte, Raimundas Malasauskas, Kelly Schacht – visiting tutors 2022
Visits
The Frans Masereel Centrum can be visited during exhibitions or events only.
In the autumn of 2023 several Artist & Curator Talks can be attended, as well as the book launch of ‘Vital Signs‘ by Melissa Gordon. Save the date for Open Masereel: a big art festival on Sunday 24 March 2024 including a Print Art Fair and the presentation of Hibernus #2. Welcome!
A guided tour to the Frans Masereel Centrum ateliers is possible by appointment. The tour takes about one hour and costs 65 euros for groups of up to 16 people. The tour can be requested in Dutch, English or French. Please make a reservation at least three weeks in advance via info@fransmasereelcentrum.be.
Accessibility
Bike
The Frans Masereel Centrum is located near bicycle point 87.
Public transport
Take the train to Turnhout or Geel. From these stations there is a bus connection to Kasterlee (line 490 / 492). At the Houtum bus stop in Kasterlee get out and turn right into the Zaardenstraat at the traffic lights. The first street on the right is the Masereeldijk. You will find the Frans Masereel Centrum at 200 meters on the right.
Car
To get to the Frans Masereel Centrum take the Exit 24 on highway E34 (“Turnhout-Kasterlee-Geel”) or via Exit 23 on highway E313 (“Geel-West”).
Drive to the center of Kasterlee and follow the Frans Masereel Centrum signboards.
International
Thalys: Antwerp-Central
Eurostar: Brussels South
Airport: Brussels Airport
History
Since its inception in 1972, the Frans Masereel Centrum has become one of the most stimulating and inspiring environments for artists and curators to explore printed matter in all its facets. or to engage within a broader practice. Located in a wooded rural area, equipped with a dynamic graphic workshop, emphasizing on experiment and creation within the field of printmaking.
The main building was designed by architects Lou Jansen and Rudi Schiltz in the early 1970s, the unique circulair print studio is located on the ground floor. Fons Mertens, the founder of what is now called the Frans Masereel Centrum, and Lou Jansen were both fascinated by the construction and shape of windmills. This translated into a remarkable architecture, consisting of a central round core with a large dome.
Fons Mertens, who was a young and visionary artist, started to collect old printing presses when offset took over from stone lithography at industrial printers. He managed to persuade the Belgian Government, in the person of Minister Frans Van Mechelen, to take over the infrastructure shortly after the buildings creation, in 1972. It was renamed ‘National Centre for Graphic Arts Frans Masereel’, in memory of Frans Masereel, one of the most important Belgian artists of the 20th century, who died at the beginning of 1972. Besides his wide scattered woodcuts, Frans Masereel is also an important international reference because of his social criticism and pacifism.
In the spring of 2019, the Frans Masereel Centrum opened a new wing, designed by Japanese architect Hideyuki Nakayama and Ido Avissar of the Paris agency LIST. The expansion is where the current collection archive and the digital studio are now situated to expand artistic creative process. More information on this project can be found in this film by Hideyuki Nakayama Architecture.
In the upcoming years we will be working on the redevelopment of the outside area, the opening of the collection archive to the public and the further development of our artistic program.
Contact
Frans Masereel Centrum
Masereeldijk 5
2460 Kasterlee (BE)
info [at] fransmasereelcentrum [dot] be
+32 (0) 14 85 22 52
Team
Leen Aerts –  Business Coordinator
Ellen Asaert – Communication and Mediation Officer
Olesia Bachynska – Assistant Communication and visual identity
Ivan Durt – Residency /Studio Coordinator
Nathan Gotlib – Studio Coordinator
Stijn Maes – Director / Senior Curator
Els Maes – Financial administrative assistant
Maria Moorkens – Technical assistant / Concierge
FrĂ©dèrique van Duppen – Project Coordinator
Stefan Willekens – Technical assistant
Eveline Lambrechts, Serge Proth, Lies Vandevorst – art education program
Gaby Gordon-Fox, Sasha Alfille, Laura Holik, Echo Ran, Pina Geyskens – interns 2023
Caroline Coolen, Magali Elali, Natasja Mabesoone, CĂ©line Mathieu, Simon Thompson, Wim Cuyvers, Brenda Guesnet, Fabian FlĂĽckiger, Louis Philippe Van Eeckhoutte, Raimundas Malasauskas, Kelly Schacht – visiting tutors 2022
Visits
The Frans Masereel Centrum can be visited during exhibitions or events only.
In the autumn of 2023 several Artist & Curator Talks can be attended, as well as the book launch of ‘Vital Signs‘ by Melissa Gordon. Save the date for Open Masereel: a big art festival on Sunday 24 March 2024 including a Print Art Fair and the presentation of Hibernus #2. Welcome!
A guided tour to the Frans Masereel Centrum ateliers is possible by appointment. The tour takes about one hour and costs 65 euros for groups of up to 16 people. The tour can be requested in Dutch, English or French. Please make a reservation at least three weeks in advance via info@fransmasereelcentrum.be.
Accessibility
Bike
The Frans Masereel Centrum is located near bicycle point 87.
Public transport
Take the train to Turnhout or Geel. From these stations there is a bus connection to Kasterlee (line 490 / 492). At the Houtum bus stop in Kasterlee get out and turn right into the Zaardenstraat at the traffic lights. The first street on the right is the Masereeldijk. You will find the Frans Masereel Centrum at 200 meters on the right.
Car
To get to the Frans Masereel Centrum take the Exit 24 on highway E34 (“Turnhout-Kasterlee-Geel”) or via Exit 23 on highway E313 (“Geel-West”).
Drive to the center of Kasterlee and follow the Frans Masereel Centrum signboards.
International
Thalys: Antwerp-Central
Eurostar: Brussels South
Airport: Brussels Airport
History
Since its inception in 1972, the Frans Masereel Centrum has become one of the most stimulating and inspiring environments for artists and curators to explore printed matter in all its facets. or to engage within a broader practice. Located in a wooded rural area, equipped with a dynamic graphic workshop, emphasizing on experiment and creation within the field of printmaking.
The main building was designed by architects Lou Jansen and Rudi Schiltz in the early 1970s, the unique circulair print studio is located on the ground floor. Fons Mertens, the founder of what is now called the Frans Masereel Centrum, and Lou Jansen were both fascinated by the construction and shape of windmills. This translated into a remarkable architecture, consisting of a central round core with a large dome.
Fons Mertens, who was a young and visionary artist, started to collect old printing presses when offset took over from stone lithography at industrial printers. He managed to persuade the Belgian Government, in the person of Minister Frans Van Mechelen, to take over the infrastructure shortly after the buildings creation, in 1972. It was renamed ‘National Centre for Graphic Arts Frans Masereel’, in memory of Frans Masereel, one of the most important Belgian artists of the 20th century, who died at the beginning of 1972. Besides his wide scattered woodcuts, Frans Masereel is also an important international reference because of his social criticism and pacifism.
In the spring of 2019, the Frans Masereel Centrum opened a new wing, designed by Japanese architect Hideyuki Nakayama and Ido Avissar of the Paris agency LIST. The expansion is where the current collection archive and the digital studio are now situated to expand artistic creative process. More information on this project can be found in this film by Hideyuki Nakayama Architecture.
In the upcoming years we will be working on the redevelopment of the outside area, the opening of the collection archive to the public and the further development of our artistic program.
