ETWIE in English

Center for Industrial Heritage in Flanders

ETWIE is the Center for Industrial Heritage in Flanders (Belgium), based in the Museum of Industry in Ghent.

A network of heritage experts

Thousands of people are involved safeguarding, collecting, researching and enthusiastically sharing industrial heritage with and for the public. ETWIE aims to bring them together, initiate projects with and for them and to encourage, support and help them with advice, through workshops or other tailored services. That's why, every day, the organisation works to expand its extensive network, which focusses on exchanging knowledge and expertise.

That way, tools, instruments, devices and machines, but also applications, knowledge, techniques and artisanal skills are charted, researched and preserved.

International participation

ETWIE is an active member of TICCIH Belgium (The International Committee for the Conservation of the Industrial Heritage). Moreover, ETWIE-coordinator Joeri Januarius is national representative at ERIH, the European Route of Industrial Heritage.

Knowledge database

ETWIE's knowledge base has thousands of actors (such as museums, collections, craftsmen, experts, researchers and organisations) and almost ten thousand contributions in the Belgian bibliography industrial heritage and industrial archaeology. The ideal starting point for visitors to explore researched topics and identify relevant literature, find specific collections or get in touch with people with a shared passion.

You can search by keyword, by theme, by municipality,... Our database was highlighted as international good practice by the Berliner Zentrum Industriekultur.

Dangerous industrial heritage

Asbestos was once commonly used in buildings, but did you know it can also be found in cultural heritage collections? Often unidentified, improperly stored and sometimes unprotected on display to the audience. Together with several project partners, we want to make heritage organisations aware of the hazards of asbestos in their collections, and advise them how to handle it safely. In TICCIH Bulletin, Joeri Januarius commented on the project.

But the scope of our project was limited to Belgium, and a comparative approach is really necessary to get a firm grip on the subject. Products containing asbestos, from household appliances to doghouses (really) were made and used anywhere after all. You might have information and documentation on asbestos use in a specific appliance that is found in several collections in Flanders. Or vice versa.

Of course, not only asbestos can be explored, also other types of dangerous or toxic heritage like lead, mercury and several other ’remains’ of past industrial activity, for example related to fertilizer production, dyemaking, production of matchsticks, etc. What are actual trends in your country? How does it relate with current issues in heritage management and local environmental discussions? Are you interested in working on this? Or any ideas or comments? Please contact Joeri Januarius.

Crafts in focus: lights, camera, action?

The intangible heritage of crafts, machine operation and maintanance and old techniques is often very threatened because the already small pool of experienced people still working on them in our industrialized society is rapidly diminishing. Documenting their techniques and practical knowledge is therefore an improved step in safeguarding this heritage. In this article in MEMORIAMEDIA Review we want to share some do's and don'ts we picked up during an active and hands-on course "Bring your craft or technique into focus".

Master-apprentice projects

In 2018 the (then) Flemish Minister of Culture Sven Gatz initiated a subsidised program for master-apprentice projects. Passing on craftsmanship and skills to safeguard the knowledge and traditions is a very involved and time-consuming process. Grants were launched to give people time and space to, in the course of several months or years, apprentice with a master in a certain trade.

ETWIE was a partner in five approved applications on the transfer of intangible knowledge and heritage of a particular technique, including one on artisanal embroidery and one on embossing.