2000, Carmen Moreno
1989, Eva Svankmajerova
1951, ?
On October 16, 2004 the Souterrain, the subterranean thoroughfare for public transport in the centre of The Hague, The Netherlands, officially opens its doors. The Souterrain is not strictly functional. On Spui station, under the crossing Spui/Grote Marktstraat, the poster gallery 'De Affiche Galerij' can be admired from that date onward. Every day, from very early in the morning until very late at night. In 'De Affiche Galerij' regularly changing poster-exhibitions will be organized, approximately six per year. Different aspects of this applied art form are highlighted in different exhibitions. 'De Affiche Galerij' is in fact a 90 meters long glass-case where, in frame-lights, 60 posters can be shown. The The Hague Municipal Archives are responsible for the technical and artistic management of 'De Affiche Galerij'.
October 16 2004 - January 5 2005
United in diversity - EU memberstates
2004 is an important year for Europe not only because the EU expands from 15 to 25 member states, but also because the European constitution is being created. Furthermore, The Netherlands fill the EU chairmanship for six months from July onward.
The motto of the EU for 2004 is 'United in diversity'. What better way to express this motto then through an extraordinary poster exhibition in a brand new location.
The Municipal Archives of The Hague invited the 24 Ambassadors in The Netherlands of all EU member states together with the Dutch Ambassador for international cultural cooperation, drs Jan Th. Hoekema, from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, to act as co-curators for the opening exhibition. Each Ambassador has made a personal choice and presents two posters they feel represent their country either in a cultural, recreational, industrial or historical way. One poster should date back to the early 1950's (because on May 9, 1950 Robert Schuman read the declaration that was to be the start of co-operation between countries in Europe). The second poster can be of a more recent date.
Quite a few countries now part of the European Union, had a hard time finding a poster from the early fifties that showed their own identity well. The Iron Curtain effectively shielded the then satellite-states of the Soviet Union from the West. Other countries in Europe were ruled by dictators and military regimes, not really healthy environments in which artists could express themselves freely. This goes even more for posters as they are often used for propaganda. A number of Ambassadors has therefore chosen a poster from a different era, others refer in their motivation to these difficult circumstances as being a black page in the history of their country. Still all Ambassadors have gone to great length to bring interesting posters into the exhibition.
For more information (in dutch) go to www.gemeentearchief.denhaag.nl
1951, ?
1990, Monika Bielak
2001, Jola Fiedler