Design Art Gallery (DAG*) is devoted to the work of Marian Bantjes and the work of designers who also function as artists or whose design work is akin to Art.
DAG is located at 183 Lincoln St. (the “gallery street”) of Lunenburg, Nova Scotia
We also have prints, cards, notebooks, t-shirts, silk scarves and ephemera designed by Marian Bantjes and made in Canada.
*The dagger is a typographic symbol denoting a footnote.
december hours
Tuesday–Friday, 11–5pm
Saturday, 11–3pm
Sunday, 11–5pm
CLOSED DEC 23-28
location
183 Lincoln Street
Lunenburg, Nova Scotia
CANADA
phone
902-514-2074
dag@bantjes.com
current show dec 8–jan 10, 2026
the tolerance poster show
The Tolerance Project is a travelling poster exhibit, founded and curated by New York designer Mirko Ilic.
The posters are created by designers and artists worldwide, whose only directive was to illustrate the word "Tolerance" in their own language.
DAG has chosen 44 out of hundreds of possibilities to bring to Nova Scotia.
coming up
valentines
jan 13 – feb 28, 2026
For 15 years, from 2005 to 2019, Marian Bantjes sent out hundreds of valentines to friends and clients. While starting out as a single mail-out, her valentines project became increasingly unusual, personal and mysterious. Being on Marian's list became highly coveted in the graphic design industry. Examples from all 15 years are collected in this show,
edith pahlke
mar 3 – 28, 2026
Edith Pahlke was born in Berlin, Germany in 1936 and has spent her life as a traveller and artist, with a love for letters, language, art, and reading.
We are pleased to show a selection of linocuts, prints, and graphic projects that focus on the interplay of letters, words, numbers, and images, often presented as haikus and short texts. An intrepid and curious traveller, Pahlke’s multi-lingual prints were executed in German, French, English, and Icelandic.
Pahlke lived and worked in Ottawa, Canada for more than 40 years. She is now a resident of Nova Scotia.
niklaus troxler
April 1 – 30, 2026
Niklaus Troxler is an internationally recognized Swiss designer most well-known for his jazz posters, mostly from the Willisau Jazz Festival, which he started, and organized from 1975 to 2009.
He has received countless awards and honours for his work, and has been shown in exhibitions across the world. His posters have been collected in many important collections such as the Museum of Modern Art New York, Cooper Hewitt Smithsonian Musem New York, Museum for Art and Craft Hamburg, Toyama Museum of Modern Art Japan, Ogaki Poster Museum Japan, Berlin Academy of Art, Berlin Art Library, Poster Museum Essen, Stadedeljk Museum Amsterdam, Zurich Poster Collection, Basel Poster Collection, Minneapolis Institute of Art a.m.o.
This is a unique opportunity for Nova Scotians to see these lively, vibrant posters at their original size of 90.5cm x 180cm (35.5in x 50.5 in).
Past shows
erich brechbühl
posters
Multi-award-winning Swiss graphic designer Erich Brechbühl is a master of poster design. We brought in 11 of Brechbuhl's Weltformat posters (90.5cm x 180cm (35.5in x 50.5 in)), most of them silkscreened.
Brechbuhl's work has been collected in museums across Europe, and has had solo shows in the US, South America, China nd The Netherlands. He is a member of Alliance Graphique Internationale (AGI).
November 2025
Marian Bantjes
patterns
Marian Bantjes has been working with patterns for 30 years, in one form or another. This show is a collection of some of this work, in a variety of media. Originals are hung, but prints of many of them are also available.
Hung on the main wall, behind the artwork are 8 pieces of upholstery fabric, designed by Marian and manufactured by Maharam (now owned by Herman Miller, along with Knoll and Kravat). As this design is now out of production, these artist's samples are the last remaining pieces.
Sept–October 2025
Marian Bantjes
digital collages
Large archival prints of “bouquets” of various things, created digitally from hundreds of images generated in AI by Marian Bantjes. This work continues her interests, in kitsch, and in using mundane objects to create intricate ornament. These 44 x56-inch prints are incredibly detailed, and belie the viewers first impression of flowers to reveal e.g. lobsters, wrestlers, crustaceans, ships, goats and other unusual things.
July - August 2025
Marian Bantjes
sticker paintings
Marian Bantjes
lettering
Marian Bantjes made her name in the design world with custom lettering. This exhibit shows a mixture of originals and prints from her career, with lettering made by drawing, painting, digital works, embroidery and arrangements of objects. Prints of various sizes available.
May 2025