What happens to promotional material when an exhibition ends? Instead of disposing of the 9 x 9 metre plastic banner, the Museum Reinhard Ernst, in collaboration with students from the AMD, opted for a more sustainable approach.
The promotional material featured a detail from Helen Frankenthaler’s painting Sea Level (1976) and had previously hung over the façade of a building on Schwalbacher Straße in Wiesbaden. A group of ten students in their fourth and sixth semesters of the Fashion and Design and Fashion and Design Management courses reinterpreted and reused the promotional material. The designs play with Frankenthaler’s flowing areas of colour and translate her painting into contemporary, practical designs.
After an introduction to the do’s and don’ts of product development for a museum shop’s range, the students set to work. Each product is unique due to the individual cut of the banner and is produced in a small batch. The collection comprises three products: a vase, a versatile bag for brushes and pens, and a key ring.
Helen Frankenthaler, Sea Level, 1976 © Helen Frankenthaler Foundation, Inc. / VG Bild-Kunst, Bonn 2026
Ines Gutierrez, Head of Retail and Digital Marketing at mre: “As part of this collaboration, we had the opportunity to introduce the students to the art of Helen Frankenthaler and the DNA of the Museum Reinhard Ernst. It was really lovely to see how this input was incorporated into the design process. We are thrilled by the students’ creative approaches and designs.”
Charlotte Kneupper, one of the students involved in the project, says: “It is a valuable and exciting experience to be able to accompany the entire journey from the initial design to the finished product. What makes this project special is the opportunity to try out lots of things and experiment. Designing an entire product line and many unique pieces also shows us just how complex and diverse sustainable design can be.”
The limited-edition design collection will be available exclusively from 23 June 2026 in the museum shop.
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