As part of its collaboration with the renowned Grand-Hornu site, Nelissen Bricks is proud to support the exhibition "What do you want, Brick?". This special exhibition highlights the brick as more than just a building material: it is an aesthetic, symbolic, and sustainable art object.
The exhibition, held at the UNESCO World Heritage site of Grand-Hornu, showcases around fifty works by international architects, artists, and designers. They reflect on the evolution of the brick – from the Egyptians to today – and demonstrate how this ancient material has developed into a sustainable and expressive medium for both architecture and art. One of the largest artworks in the exhibition is made with bricks from Nelissen, and the most artistic brick from Nelissen, DUBIO, also takes a prominent place.
Perfect match
For Nelissen Bricks, a company specializing in brick production for generations, this collaboration feels like a natural fit. “We’ve long considered the brick to be more than just functional,” says Renate Nelis, Marketing & Communication Manager at Nelissen Bricks. “Take, for example, our showroom. It’s intentionally designed like a museum, where you can explore the versatility of the brick on a museum-like tour. The fact that this same vision now finds a place in a cultural setting like Grand-Hornu makes this collaboration even more valuable.”
“The collaboration with product developers like Roel Vandebeek also concretely shapes this vision. Together, we develop unique aesthetic products that inspire architects and help them build creatively with bricks.”
Artistic
Nelissen also showcases its artistic side in other ways. The family-owned company has been collaborating with trend agency Francq Colors for some time to create inspiring mood boards with bricks in the spotlight. “Nelissen is art-minded,” says Nelis. “We are proud to be a brick manufacturer and a partner in an exhibition that perfectly demonstrates how versatile and visually powerful our product is.”
