The fortified town of Valkenburg aan de Geul is home to more than 170 monuments. The Limburg town possesses dozens of façade advertisements. The façade advertisements were created at the end of the 19th century in the Belle Epoque and Jugendstil era. The Foundation “Teekens aan de Wand” preserves as many of these valuable historical façade advertisements as possible.
We enjoy working with this foundation within the Decoration and Restoration Painter course. This autumn, the historical façade advertisement of the butter brand “Blue Band” was restored by Lonneke van Gerwen, student of the Decoration and Restoration Painter course. During her internship, she went through a complete process including; archive research, consultation with the municipality and house owner, writing a plan of action with the help of a Sikkens paint consultant, and the final execution.
Contributing to the future
Student Lonneke enthusiastically says: “Blue Band has been a very special and educational project for me. With the experience I gained at school, I was able to help with many things and also gain new experiences. To do something in practice, which you normally do in the classroom, is of course super fun. I experienced the whole process, from research to painting. I think it is special as a third-year student to participate with such a project and to put this artwork on the wall together with a talented artist. A piece of my art will now always be on the wall and that makes it such a special internship. The Signs on the Wall Foundation is a wonderful organisation and I am glad I was able to contribute to showcasing historical art again. I hope I get to work on an even more projects at this foundation this year.”
