The 40th anniversary of Eks-Skolens Trykkeri

Speech (excerpt), 31 Aug 2012

To have a dream, to imagine the world in a new way, to have a vision. From the completely banal – a new kitchen, to the very ultimate – a new society, man has the special ability to imagine things, events that are non-existent, imaginary, freely invented possibilities and to sometimes realise these ideas in the real world, sometimes for the better, unfortunately as often though, sometimes for the worse.

40 years ago, January 1st 1972, the ex-school’s printing department started out in an ice cold un- heated basement under a farm. Wall plaster sprinkled down into the machinery, the anatomical institute had dead bodies lying in large plastic tubs and all sorts of posters and publications from the last 6 years underground lay in large piles.

Then the rest is history, which this speech cannot overcome. In 1976 we ended up, after a somewhat tumultuous period here and there, in Nørrebrogade, with a slightly more humble version of a dream that would not go away. During the 70’s more and more people became full-time workers. Publishers came and publications appeared as well as art prints, a kind of gallery and so on. Machines were bought, the number of editions rose, it became more professional, and we joined the lithographic federation.

We loved the unions so much that we offered to reform them completely according to our model. They did not love us, stupidly of them, looking back in hindsight.