The Kids' Book Review Bookish Places posts are a chance to celebrate museums, galleries and other places with a connection to children's literature and reading. The posts are compiled by KBR's Consultant Librarian, Sarah Steed, our intrepid traveller and hunter-gatherer of amazing places!
You’ll find plenty to explore on a visit to
The Belgian Comic Strip Centre at 20 rue des Sables, B-1000, Brussels. An exciting opportunity not to be missed, it’s right in the centre of Brussels, and is within easy walking distance of public transport.
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| The grand foyer of the museum (Photo: Sarah Steed) |
The Belgian Comic Strip Centre has something for all ages, from young children through to adults, and is packed with fun photo opportunities. Housed in an historic art nouveau building, the museum which celebrates European comics, first opened in 1989.
You can wind your way through comprehensive permanent exhibitions about
The Invention of the Comic Strip (which was much earlier than you might think) and
The Art of the Comic Strip. You'll learn more than you expect about genres, styles, formats, and the important role of comics. And you'll probably be inspired to try your hand at drawing, too.
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| Exploring 'The Art of the Comic Strip' (Photo: Sarah Steed) |
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| Exploring 'The Art of the Comic Strip' (Photo: Sarah Steed) |
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| One of the pieces on display in 'The Invention of the Comic Strip' (Photo: Sarah Steed) |
Two of Belgium’s most famous creations feature in special permanent exhibitions.
The Hergé Area takes you on a journey with the artist known internationally as
Tintin's creator, while
The Peyo Exhibition takes you into the world of
The Smurfs.
In addition to the fantastic permanent exhibitions, there’s also a schedule of informative and entertaining temporary exhibitions. Each have multilingual captions and labels.
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| A corrner of 'The Hergé Area' (Photo: Sarah Steed) |
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| Celebrating The Smurfs (Photo: Sarah Steed) |
The Belgian Comic Strip Centre is also home to
The Comic Strip Library (with 60,000+ works), and a bookshop which is a chock-a-block with goodies.
Check the
Belgian Comic Strip Centre website for opening hours and entry fees, and be sure to allow yourself plenty of time to explore on your visit.
Interested in taking a Bookish Places trip around the world with Sarah? Enjoy this sensational map, also created by Sarah, and check out our other Bookish Places posts here.
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| Inside the museum (Photo: Sarah Steed) |
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| One of the comic characters brought to life in 3D in the museum (Photo: Sarah Steed) |
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| Look out for fantastic street art around Brussels (Photo: Sarah Steed) |
