Jamie Reid in Den Bosch: beyond the familiar punk sleeve

Believe in the Ruins runs through 15 November. Alongside Reid’s punk designs, Design Museum Den Bosch presents his activist and spiritual work.

Museum Magazine · 14 October 2026

Design Museum Den Bosch, exterior facade. Photo: G.Lanting / Wikimedia Commons · CC BY-SA 3.0 · Image source

Jamie Reid: Believe in the Ruins has been on view at Design Museum Den Bosch since 27 June and runs through 15 November 2026. The museum calls it the first Dutch exhibition to present Reid as a politically engaged activist artist. Here, the image of a designer defined by one moment in punk expands into a longer story.

Reid, born in 1947 and deceased in 2023, was a British artist, designer and activist. His design for the 1977 album sleeve Never Mind the Bollocks, Here’s the Sex Pistols made him known around the world. The museum stresses that his designs from the punk era make up only a small part of his work.

Design Museum Den Bosch, view from the staircase. Photo: G.Lanting / Wikimedia Commons · CC BY-SA 3.0 · Image source

After punk, Reid continued to make activist art, according to the museum. The exhibition page mentions protests against Margaret Thatcher’s policies, the Iraq war, the arrest of Pussy Riot and the rise of Putin. These are subjects that the museum itself connects to his work: visitors therefore see more than a retrospective of music graphics.

Another strand of the story is spiritual and esoteric work. The museum describes activism and mysticism as two sides of Reid’s artistic practice. Alongside activist zines and anarchist collages, it says that films, spatial installations and mystical paintings are also on view. Believe in the Ruins thus spans different periods and themes in his work.

The exhibition was curated by Timo de Rijk, with design by Jan Konings. The museum estimates a visit will take thirty to sixty minutes. That can help with planning, though it is not a fixed duration for every visitor.

Design Museum Den Bosch is at De Mortel 4, 5211 HV ’s-Hertogenbosch. According to its visitor page, it opens Tuesday through Sunday from 11 am to 5 pm. The website also lists evening opening on the first Thursday of each month, from 7 pm to 10 pm.

According to the same page, admission costs €15 for adults aged thirty and over, and €7.50 for visitors aged eighteen to thirty. Children under eighteen and Museumkaart holders enter free. Tickets are sold online and at the door. Check the opening hours and price again if you plan to visit closer to the exhibition’s end.