'A New Nature' – Residency Céline Hurka

National museum Huis van het boek presents the residency 'A New Nature' by typographer Céline Hurka from March 22 through October 25, 2026. In her work, Hurka explores a remarkable parallel: while plant species disappear due to climate change, floral and plant motifs have also vanished from contempotary typography and book design. Historical printed works featured abundant floral decoration, but contemporary typefaces almost completely lack this kind of ornamentation.
Hurka addresses this by designing new typefaces based on endangered plant species. Letters become more than mere characters—they become an archive of what we risk losing. Simultaneously, she poses a question: can reintroducing flowers in design and art lead to greater attention and care for nature?

Research in Collections
Céline Hurka bases her typography on research within museum collections. She has done this before: working with artist Katarina Petrović, she developed ornamental typefaces for 'The Negative Bible', inspired by historical manuscripts and visible, among other places, in the TU Delft Library. In 2024, she created custom ornaments for the exhibition 'I Hit You with a Flower' at Stedelijk Museum Schiedam. Now, during her residency, Hurka engages with the collection at Huis van het boek. She explores their rich assemblage spanning medieval manuscripts through Art Nouveau and Arts and Crafts. These historical works serve as the starting point for her new typefaces. In the residency, Hurka presents her designs alongside these historical sources. This allows visitors to see firsthand how the past inspires her work and how letters and nature are interconnected.

Residency
'A New Nature' functions as a hybrid space where the museum and studio overlap. Visitors follow the complete creative process: from analyzing centuries-old archival material to designing digital typefaces. The presentation features typefaces in various stages of development, printed works, the tapestries 'Symbols of Utopia' created in collaboration with multidisciplinary artist Yamuna Forzani (inspired by William Morris and the Arts and Crafts movement), and 'The Secret Type Garden'—a digital typographic experience developed with Studio Pointer*, where visitors virtually walk through a landscape of floral typography.

The new creations are displayed alongside carefully selected books from the museum collection that served as sources of inspiration. Céline Hurka is present in the studio at selected times and available to discuss her work with visitors.

Annual Theme: 'Hope and Fear'
The residency is part of the annual theme 'Hope and Fear', through which Huis van het boek this year explores how culture helps us cope with change. Just as the invention of the printing press in the 15th century marked a transformation, the museum today investigates how books and design offer responses to uncertainty and loss. In this time of fundamental change, Huis van het boek asks: how does culture help us navigate what we lose and how do we make a new beginning possible?

The residency 'A New Nature' was made possible in part through financial support from the Iona Foundation, the Dutch Ministry of Education, Culture and Science, and the Foundation Friends of Huis van het boek.