Wish you could be visiting the wonderful city of Paris right now?
Well for those who are not able to, you can have a taste of France right in Beverly, that is a taste of France in 1968.
The Beverly Public Library is hosting an exhibit of posters from the collection of Stephen Lewis during the month of June. The exhibit is titled, May of 68.
The posters are about the events happening in France, especially in Paris, during the month of May. This was a time when students, workers and peasants joined together in common protest and nearly toppled the government of Charles DeGaulle.
The students were protesting the elitist style of education they were receiving, workers were protesting low wages and the working conditions in their places of employment.
Peasants were protesting the difficult lives they were subjected to. Over a million workers went on strike.
The events were captured in art by students and professors forming a movement Atelier Populaire. The art was used to communicate the demands of the people and to reflect what was happening.
The posters on display a small sample of the many posters that were created during this period. They are simple in style but very meaningful to the population of France.
It was a reaction to what was viewed as bourgeois art.
The posters are from a collection of more than 9000 posters of Stephen Lewis. Lewis has been collecting political posters for 20 years and has been staging exhibits around Massachusetts for the past 17 years. Many of the posters are older but still reflect events that impact on us today.
Lewis attributes his love for the posters and creating exhibits, to his background as a political activist and a union leader.
He states that many of his exhibits reflect issues he has been involved in over the course of his life.
His exhibits in general are about labor and progressive political issues He can be reached at lewisposters@gmail.com
This project is supported in part by a grant from the Beverly Cultural Council, a local agency which is supported by the Massachusetts Cultural Council, a state agency.