This weekend, the arts of printmaking find a new place to be at the Kulturfabrik in Esch: The Micro-Truc, a festival for illustrators, designers, and everyone else.

 “L’idée de la micro-édition, c’est des pratiques d’édition, mais vraiment à tout petit tirage, faites de manière artisanale”, Herrade Fousse explains. She is jointly responsible for the cultural programme at the Kulturfabrik in Esch and organizing the first edition of the Micro-Truc, a festival dedicated to the arts of illustration, design, and printmaking.

“Chacun peut le faire à sa sauce.”

“Moi, j’ai eu cette idée pour le festival parce que ce sont des pratiques qui m’intéressent personnellement et je me suis rendu compte assez rapidement qu’au Luxembourg, il n’y avait pas d’événements qui étaient vraiment dédiés à ce type de pratique”, she continues. 

However, she sees a growing interest in the wider public. “Les gens peuvent se rendre compte qu’ils ont la possibilité de faire ça à la maison, parce que finalement, c’est des disciplines qui peuvent toucher tout le monde de manière assez artisanale. Chacun.e peut découper un magazine et faire son propre flyer. I.el n’a pas besoin de maîtriser Photoshop. Ce que je trouve intéressant, c’est que chacun.e peut le faire à sa sauce.”

Printmaking at the Kulturfabrik: le retour de l’artisanal

Since a couple of years, the Kulturfabrik has been invested in illustration and design, more than most other cultural houses in Luxembourg. It all started during the pandemic. “Pendant l’année du confinement, on n’avait plus vraiment de programmation”, Herrade says. “Et là, on s’est dit, qu’il faut quand même qu’on continue à faire des choses, à soutenir des artistes.” Thus, they asked artists to make illustrations of the area and buildings of the Kulturfabrik. “On arrêtait avec des trucs très épurés et commençait à faire des trucs un peu ‘crado’, moins parfaits. Ça rend les objets uniques.” 

In the following years, the Kulturfabrik felt committed to promoting the often overlooked arts by giving them a platform at their exhibition spaces, such as at their bar called Ratelach or at their creator’s market, the Braderie urbaine. This year, however, they created a brand-new stage for printmakers and those aspiring to be.

“Micro-Truc” was a working title at first. However, it soon became clear to Herrade that the title describes very well the general idea of the festival. It is a bit about everything – no claim on perfection, shedding light on small-scale edition and the arts involved.

The festival: pas un truc comme les autres!

The salon is the heart of the Micro-Truc. 23 artists from Luxembourg, Belgium, France, and Germany present and sell their self-made posters, fanzines, prints, and linocuts. The artworks are unique and limited editions that generally sell for relatively affordable prices.

While strolling over the creator’s market, visitors can enjoy original craft beers and craft wines from local microbreweries and -wineries. “Micro-édition, micro-brasserie, même combat!” can be read at their homepage. Like their printed counterparts, the offered beverages are produced in limited editions and face similar challenges in distributing their products.

The Micro-Truc, however, is not only about buying and consuming. In four different workshops for both adults and children, people get to be active themselves: creating their very own zine, learning how to do a linocut, binding a book. “Je voulais montrer qu’en un workshop de 1-3 heures, chacun.e peut repartir avec sa petite création”, Herrade explains.

The event expands beyond culinary delights and visual art to include a diverse musical programme as well. Les Amis Nos Morts will deliver a magically macabre concert performance with marionettes made out of animal skulls. Other highlights include a “drawn” concert where an illustrator teams up with a videographer and a wave duo to perform in a multisensorial musical act, “postal art” with La Timbrée Par la Plem-Plem Compagnie, and a late-night DJ act at the Ratelach.

This Saturday, April 20^th, the first ever edition of Micro-Truc at the Kulturfabrik invites people into the beautifully imperfect world of printmaking and the arts of illustration and design, inciting them to take their first steps in the craft themselves. The entry is free.