KABK Library

It might not surprise you that KABK Library loves books. And letters as well. So books on letters are double loved. This fresh acquisition is a special one. Not only to enjoy the letter designs, but also to read about the big impact KABK’s TypeMedia department had on author James Efmondson’s development (while citing one of Erik van Blokland’s classic quotes: “You should hate your sketch!” - so don’t post it on Instagram…). ‘The Ohno Book’ will be on our New Books Table next week – so if your’re looking for a serious guide to irreverent type design, you know where to go! #ohnobook @typeandmedia @jamestedmondson #artlibraries #typedesign

As the semester unfolded in Editingathering IST at @royalacademyofart.thehague , our students once again stepped into the fast-paced energy of Zine Battle 2026. 📚✨ In a six-hour sprint, teams were challenged to conceive, edit, design, and produce a zine from scratch. This year’s theme, Imperial Boomerang, invited them to explore how empires never fully disappear, returning in altered forms through images, labour structures, migration policies, and cultural memory. Each group selected an empire or historical timeline, weaving together different archives into a single publication, creating layered narratives that echo past and present. 🏆 Now it’s your turn to join in. The Zine Battle 2026 has landed at the KABK Library! 📚✨
The zines are on display at @kabklibrary for the next few weeks. Browse them and cast your vote by scanning the QR code on the poster. 🗳️ I’m incredibly proud of this year’s cohort and eager to hear your thoughts. Which zine resonates with you? Which one stays with you long after the final page? 
#Editingathering #ZineBattle #ImperialBoomerang #KABK #Zinemaking Big thanks to the students and to @royalacademyofart.thehague , @kabkphotography , and @kabklibrary for their continued support and enthusiasm. ✨📚🤍 and thanks for the video and assistance @andrea__azzolini ✨🎥

The annual Zine Battle is on again! Initiated by teacher Rafael Roncato, for his IST course ‘Editingathering’. The zines of the four battling teams are on view in the library (in the back, against the glass wall, near the magazines). This year’s theme is ‘imperial boomerang’. 🪃 So hurry to the library to have a look, and vote for your favourite! #zinebattle

BOOKS, LIBRARIES & ARCHIVES in art In these times of unreliable information, deepfake images and hallucinating AIs, there’s a renewed appreciation of printed sources as a reliable anchor. Within the art world, the fascination with archives has been ongoing for some time; and in recent years, the ‘art library as practice’ has joined the fray. Artists are exploring archive and library systems to expose deep-rooted prejudices within our culture. Books, archives and library systems are increasingly becoming the subject or source of inspiration for art projects. In June 2026, a working week on this topic will take place in Antwerp, for art school professionals. KABK librarians will be taking part, and hope to return to The Hague with a wealth of knowledge and good practical examples. A great opportunity to showcase some books on our Book Table that touch on this subject. Feel free to read, touch & borrow – dive in the library! *** KABK Library is a place for exploration, inspiration, and critical thinking. Every now and then our Book Table highlights a new theme, movement or thinker to spark curiosity and connect you to art and design history.  #libraryasartitself #artlibraries #artlibraryaspractice #archivesinarts #artandlibrary @sintlucasantwerpen great initiative, we’re going to sign up! 🙋‍♀️

For garden lovers the library is a pleasant place too! We’re happy with our ‘growing collection of publications about the art of gardening’ (with the following themes so far: Enclosures, Nasturiums, Compost, Artichoke, Mien Ruys, Topiary and Daffodils) You can find them in the magazine cabinet (please clean your hands before picking them ;-) @pleasantplacepublication #gardening #kabkgarden @kabk_gardens #artlibraries #kabklibrary #springisintheair🌸

THINKING & MAKING Last week, KABK workshop instructors showed each other their most interesting techniques, materials, machines, and skills. In KABK Library, we welcomed our workshop colleagues with a presentation on some of our library treasures (and a picture of KABK’s first librarian: miss Becker). We also selected some workshops-related books from our collection. It was a very inspiring afternoon! We will leave some of the selected books on the Book Table for a while longer, to inspire our library visitors and workshop enthusiasts. So start thinking & making: borrow a book! *** KABK Library is a place for exploration, inspiration, and critical thinking. Every now and then our Book Table highlights a new theme, movement or thinker to spark curiosity and connect you to art and design history. #thinkingandmaking #kabkworkshops #kabklibrary #libraryhistory #booktable

SENSES! Now KABK is diving into newly articulated ‘senses’ as a framework to think and talk about KABK’s identity and the direction we would like to take, we selected several sensory books from our collection for January’s Book Table. The attention to senses brings Frans Evers’ ‘The Academy of the Senses’ in mind. In it, Evers describes the genesis of the Sound & Image interfaculty (now ArtScience). Frans was one of the founders of that program in 1989. After his death in 2010 a large part of his book collection was incorporated into the KABK library. The books from his legacy can be recognized by a striped strip on the spine sticker. You’re welcome to approach the displayed books with multiple senses: come and see, smell, listen, and feel. And of course you can borrow and read them. Start making sense! *** KABK Library is a place for exploration, inspiration, and critical thinking. Every now and then our Book Table highlights a new theme, movement or thinker to spark curiosity and connect you to art and design history.  *** #senses #facultysenses #synesthesia #kabklibrary #artlibraries

It’s Open Day today (29 november)! This morning, we already welcomed visitors ranging age from 0 to 80+ (great to see you again, Georg Hadeler!). One of the young visitors immediately found her way around the library. She was particularly interested in the Typography & Graphic Design section. Perhaps we’ll see her again one day in the TypeMedia department! We’re open untill 16:00 - so be welcome! #kabk #kabkopenday #royalacademyofartthehague

ZINES! The annual zine battle (at the back of the library, near the magazine cabinets) is a great opportunity for us to put the ‘zine boxes’ from our library collection in the spotlight. For a number of years now, we have been storing zines, underground comics and DIY publications there. It has grown into quite a collection! A small selection is on display on the Book Table. Would you like to see more, and browse through the boxes? Ask the librarian! We’re happy to show them to you! *** KABK Library is a place for exploration, inspiration, and critical thinking. Every now and then our Book Table highlights a new theme, movement or thinker to spark curiosity and connect you to art and design history. *** #zines #zinebattle #kabklibrary #artlibraries #royalacademyofartthehague #diy #underground

📚📚 As we approach another end of semester in Editingathering IST at @royalacademyofart.thehague , our students once again paused their regular flow and jumped straight into Zine Battle Zine 2025 with sharper instincts and bold new ideas. 📚📚 Two weeks ago, four teams entered a six-hour sprint to conceive, edit, design, and produce their own zines from scratch. No safety nets, no overthinking. The result: four distinct publications that test the limits of storytelling, form and visual strategy. 🏆 🏆 Now it’s your turn to join in. The zines are on display at the KABK Library @kabklibrary for the next two weeks, ready for your hands, your eyes, and your vote via QR code. 🗳️✨ Three groups worked with @mutual.office ’s Tarot Cards for Contemporary Art Discourse 2024, exploring themes of globalisation, identity, trauma and representation. One group built their zine around a track by Racionais MC’s @racionaiscn , a landmark of Brazilian hip hop that addresses racism, police violence, poverty, and the penal system. The outcome goes far beyond coursework. It’s a snapshot of how this generation sees and responds to the world right now. I’m proud of this year’s cohort and curious to hear your take. Which zine stands out? Which one lingers? 🌟 Let’s celebrate collective making and the energetic chaos of zine culture. 🌟 #Editingathering #ZineBattle2025 #KABK #royalacademyofartthehague #VisualStorytelling #ZineCulture #CreativeCollaboration #zines #zinemaking #ISTphotography #rafaelroncato #publishing #visualnarrative Big thanks to the students and to @royalacademyofart.thehague , @kabkphotography , and @kabklibrary for the ongoing support and enthusiasm. ✨🤙💛

Full house! Thank you very much for your visits to ‘Bridging the Thesis’ and the Design Lectorate book launch ‘A Fray if Messays’. It’s wonderful to celebrate research outcomes in KABK Library 🙌 Thank you Lucy Bink, Nadia Abadjieva and Braidon Hobzek for your dedicated and inspired talks about thesis research. And thank you Alice Twemlow and the Deep Futures Research Group for telling us about the ‘messays’ and for reading from the book. And Alice, thank you for the connections you have made at KABK over the past few years. Between teachers and staff from different departments and disciplines, between many topics, between a variety of methods, and between diverse perspectives. Very valuable! And last but not least thanks to Roosmarijn Hompe for the smooth and flexible collaboration. #jointresearchday2025 #bridgingthethesis #kabklibrary @researchplatform.art

Just one more night... In the run-up to Joint Research Day 2025, KABK Library will celebrate research conducted at KABK, by hosting thesis talks and a book launch. You’re warmly invited! Thursday 13 November 16:00-18:00: Bridging the Thesis An event about thesis research, writing processes, practice, and the bridges between them. Presentations by alumni Lucy Bink (BA Photography) & Nadia Abadjieva (BA I/M/D) Q&A moderated by Braidon Hobzek (4th year I/M/D) 18:00-20:00: Book Launch ‘A Fray of Messays’, the brand new publication by the KABK Deep Futures Research Group, led by Alice Twemlow (lector KABK Design Lectorate). KABK tutors Jasper Coppes, Carl Johan Högberg, Katrin Korfmann and Victoria Meniakina, with KABK Design Lector Alice Twemlow, will read aloud and discuss a selection of passages from their new book, as well as sharing stories about its collaborative making process. Join them at this special KABK launch event to claim your free copy of the book, designed by Bart de Baets and, for this occasion only, with a limited edition insert by KABK Graphic Design alumna, Angèle Jaspers. The event will also feature a soundscape created especially for the event by sound practitioner Femke Dekker, using sonic samples from the research projects. Let’s raise a glass together! Image: Alex Schröder @alicetwemlow @researchplatform.art @royalacademyofart.thehague #jointresearchday2025 #kabklibrary #thesistalks #researchatkabk #booklaunch