Picturing Politics – Exploring the Political Poster in Britain

12th November 2011 - 17th June 2012
People's History Museum

Iconic political posters

Despite the rapid increase and prevalence of digital technology, posters still provided some of the most resonant images from the 2010 general election.

The museum has a unique poster collection, the largest in the UK, and this new exhibition will showcase this collection by featuring political campaign posters from all the major political parties.

Displaying over 60 iconic examples, this exhibition will explore the development of the poster and examine one of the key aspects of our democracy: how parties speak to the people and crucially, how this communication has changed.

Extensive research by exhibition curator and PhD student Chris Burgess will enable the exhibition to illustrate for the first time how some of these significant posters developed from the original concept of the party leader to the final image. The exhibition will display the process of poster design, from initial idea, through preliminary artwork, to final product. The thematic displays will demonstrate how the treatment of some subjects has changed dramatically over the period, for example, the depiction of women. Conversely it will also highlight how other subjects remain constant, such as representations of the party leader.

As well as enjoying the visual spectacle of these striking posters, visitors will be inspired to make up slogans and create their own posters or even feature in a poster themselves.