Discover Benelux | Museum of the Month | Belgium
MUSEUM OF THE MONTH, BELGIUM
Living through the industrial revolution TEXT: MICHIEL STOL | PHOTOS: CORLAZZZOLI
What must it have been like to work in a factory in the 1800s? In the Museum of Industry in Ghent, formerly known as MIAT, you will get an answer to that very question, thanks to a new permanent exhibition. “Through witness testimony you will learn about life in the factories over the last three centuries,” explains Hilde Langeraert, curator at the museum. Ghent and its region hold a lot of industrial history, which is on display in the Museum of Industry. It is located in a former cotton spinning mill in the city centre. It also offers an impressive panorama of Ghent from the upper floor: the old city with its towers and the former harbour with its industries. Until recently, this was the Museum for Industry, Labour and Textile (MIAT). But after 40 years of growth and changes, the name does not cover the full story anymore. That is why the museum was rebranded as the Museum of Industry.
Witnesses of the revolution With the re-styling also comes a new permanent exhibition, displaying three 64 | Issue 58 | October 2018
centuries of industry in Belgium which opens this October. The exhibition consists of four ‘boxes’. “They represent important time frames of the industrial revolution,” elaborates Langeraert. “Each ‘box’ recounts the stories of three main witnesses from a certain period. Through these stories, we learn what living and working was like.” The stories are being told via interviews and artefacts; not just utensils and tools, but, for example, also the rag doll of Juliana, who worked in the flax factory as a young child. “Them telling their story is so much more powerful than us telling it.”
Flemish masterpieces recognised by the local government. The Museum of Industry is bursting with activities, interactive tours, creative workshops, rumbling machines, lively exhibitions, exciting museum games and passionate craftsmen. You can also enjoy experimenting with science and technology in the Tinker Studio, or try things out in the textile or printing studio, which can be done under guidance of the museum’s experts and creative minds. Definitely worth a visit!
Interactive with industry Besides the personal stories and objects, the museum displays a lot of machinery from the early days of the revolution until now. It includes a self-acting spinning machine − which featured in the Belgian film classic Daens – and the iconic Mule Jenny, a machine smuggled into Ghent from the United Kingdom. “Mule Jenny introduced the industrial revolution to the continent and symbolises the growth of the textile industry.” Today, it is one of the
Web: www.industriemuseum.be