Inkygoodness hits Antwerp

The illustration collective Inkygoodness have invaded the Belgian city of Antwerp with a new exhibition entitled Shape/Shift. As you can guess from the title, the theme is one of metamorphosis, with 25 different artists each creating a character in the midst of changing its appearance. It's all part of the Fiend Projects Art Festival - a wider event being held in the city's Designcenter de Winkelhaak.

"There's such a diverse selection of artists featured in the festival," says Lisa Hassell, co-founder of inkygoodness. "Olivier Vranken stole the show with his large abstract portrait paintings for the Subwalk exhibition. I also loved Gil Guerra's silk screen illustrations, and the Topo copy exhibit of risographs. Our exhibition featured a lot of variety too - Piktorama and EW Thomason's designs were my personal highlights."

Artists from the UK, America, Finland, Guatamala and Belgium all joined the Inkygoodness contingent and their work was displayed on A3 limited edition giclee prints which are also on sale via the Inkygoodness online store. Their contact was Mark Goss, a Brit living in Antwerp who set up the Fiend Projects group. "Mark invited artists and illustrators from Antwerp and further afield to get involved, including our good friend Sam de Buysscher - aka Toy Factory - who recommended us to Mark. We were delighted to be invited to exhibit as part of the festival - and it was a brilliant opportunity to visit the city and check out the rest of the show," continues Hassell.

Aside from the Shape/Shift exhibition there are other shows, events and workshops being held at the Designcenter as part of the festival. And, Inkygoodness seems to have developed a taste not just for collaboration but for Belgian waffles. They're set to return later in the year. "Yes, we love collaboration - it's a lot more fun to team up with like-minded creatives and of course make new friends. We're hoping to return to Antwerp in the summer for a a mini-show with Fiend Projects, and have plans to launch a competition or two on our website in the meantime," she says.

The art festival carries on until 28 January - more details can be found on the website. And we wish Lisa Hassell well as she'll be taking a break from design and creativity very soon in order to have a baby. Good luck, Lisa.