WOMEN* & TYPE


The museum moves into the streets, while the streets enter the museum.

Typography is everywhere and shapes the way we perceive written messages. It conveys knowledge and emotion, influencing both our actions and the way we form opinions—politically as well as socially.

To this day, typography remains largely shaped by male perspectives. Museum Wiesbaden responds by raising a flag and making a clear statement for diversity and visible voices in type design. As part of the World Design Capital Frankfurt RheinMain 2026, international women designers were invited to create typographic flags for the “Rue.” The historic façades of Wilhelmstraße, lined with museums and galleries, become an open exhibition space. Inspired by the tradition of the poster as the “art of the street,” the project explores the boundaries between fine and applied art, and the connections between design, commerce, and public perception.

“WOMEN* & TYPE” is a collaborative project between Museum Wiesbaden and the Designlabor Gutenberg at Mainz University of Applied Sciences.

The Mainz LUX Pavilion presents feminist positions from the young type design scene at Mainz University of Applied Sciences, all of which use typography to formulate criticism of the current social status quo. On the ground floor, 18 activist (protest) flags engage with feminist perspectives in typography. On the upper floor, specially created feminist interpretations of “female accessories,” together with typographic statements by students of the Communication Design programme, explore the relationship between gender and design.

The exhibition WOMEN* & TYPE – FLAGS WITH A MESSAGE Mainz builds a bridge to the exhibition WOMEN* & TYPE–CALL FOR FLAGS in Wiesbaden.

The project is supervised by Prof. Dr. Petra Eisele and Prof. Dr. Isabel Naegele at the Designlabor Gutenberg Institute, who are also the editors of UN/SEEN-Women in Graphic Design up to the Bauhaus

Organizers and project partners: The project is a collaboration between the Designlabor Gutenberg at Mainz University of Applied Sciences (Prof. Dr. Isabel Naegele, Prof. Dr. Petra Eisele, Flávia Nalon, M.A., and students of the Communication Design programe) and Museum Wiesbaden (Jana Dennhard, M.A., and Dr. Jörg Daur).

A project within the World Design Capital Frankfurt RheinMain 2026.

Photo: © Sophie Bachmann
CD: Sophie Wolf and Celina Schütz

Exhibition
Wiesbaden, July 10-Oktober 4, 2026
Mainz, July 21-23, 2026

Where?
Wilhelmstraße 
Museum Wiesbaden
LUX Pavillon der Hochschule Mainz

YOU CAND FIND MORE INFORMATION ABOUT MAINZ HERE
YOU CAND FIND MORE INFORMATION ABOUT WIESBADEN HERE