AkuruCon 2018
International typography conference celebrating 280 years of movable type in Sri Lanka.
AkuruCon was organised in collaboration with the Embassy of the Netherlands, Sri Lanka, to celebrate the 280th anniversary of the introduction of movable type in Sri Lanka.
Background
In 1738, Gabriel Schade, a Dutch printer working for the VOC (Dutch East India Company) in Ceylon, established the first printing press with Sinhala and Tamil movable type. AkuruCon 2018, held 280 years later, was a celebration and examination of this founding moment in Sri Lankan print history.
Programme
The conference consisted of several workshops and seminars focused on:
- The shared typographic history between Sri Lanka and the Netherlands
- The Dutch Press in Ceylon: type design, printing, and colonial context
- Contemporary implications of this heritage for Sri Lankan design
- Workshops on letterpress printing and type history
Participation
Over a hundred students and representatives from design schools, professionals from advertising and design industries, and general public enthusiastic about Sinhala and Tamil letterforms participated in AkuruCon 2018.
Partners
Organised in collaboration with the Embassy of the Netherlands, Sri Lanka.