Exhibition 16. 5. - 30. 10. 2009: Posters from the 1989 Velvet Revolution
This exhibition of Czech revolution posters from November and December 1989 marks the upcoming 20th anniversary of the beginning of the Velvet Revolution, which led to the fall of communism in Czechoslovakia.
The exhibition is held under the auspices of the Prime Minister of the Czech Republic.
Organizer:
Úřad vlády ČR
Studio Designiq
Exhibition curator: Filip Blažek
Poster reproduction: Ondřej Kocourek
Graphic design: Studio Designiq
Venue: The garden of the Straka Academy, Úřad vlády ČR, entrance from Kosárkovo nábřeží, Praha 1.
Open Saturdays and Sundays 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.
The posters and fliers that were plastered on all street corners and other important locations in cities throughout the country formed an intrinsic backdrop for those days of revolution. While most posters were drawn or painted by hand, just a few days following the start of the revolution on November 17, large print runs of several posters were made semi-legally using either offset or silkscreen printing technology. Some posters were created by anonymous designers, while others were made by experienced artists such as Aleš Najbrt, Michal Cihlář, Jiří Votruba, Joska Skalník, Ivan Král and Stanislav Holý, to name a few. Neither this collection - nor any other like it - has been shown to the public since the end of the revolution.
Catalogue of the exhibition Posters from the 1989 "Velvet" Revolution on the web of Studio Designiq
Visitors to the exhibition will be able to view nearly 30 posters recalling the atmosphere of those revolutionary days. Most of the posters exhibited come from private collections, of which the most comprehensive was collected by graphic designer and exhibition curator Filip Blažek at the end of 1989, when, as a student, he helped out at Prague's Manes exhibition gallery, one of several informal centers of opposition to the totalitarian regime.
