BY PAUL McCARTAN
SYDNEY Late last year, more than 4500 political posters from Australia and overseas were rediscovered at the Jura Bookshop. The posters date from the 1960s to the late 1980s, and include a large number of Redback Graphix/Earthworks Poster Collective and Tin Sheds posters.
The posters have been examined by David Kunzle from the Center for the Study of Political Graphics in Los Angeles, and he has stated that it is one of the biggest and most complete collections of political posters known to exist.
Jura Bookshop has decided to launch a poster exhibition on Saturday, July 5, starting from 6.30pm. The posters traverse a wide range of the political topics, from punk to feminism, Aboriginal sovereignty and anti-nuclear.
There will be more than 100 posters on display. Michael Callaghan and Nick Southall from Redback Graphix have been invited to talk on the night.
The exhibition will highlight the prodigious output and amazing ingenuity involved in the production of political posters over the years and alert the general public to the importance of the collection and to seek assistance in preserving the artworks.
We desperately need help from people who can provide assistance with the preservation, storage and cataloguing of the posters. We also need help with securing donations and grants from funding bodies.
Jura Bookshop is a non-profit, community-run bookshop that has been operating for more than 25 years. It serves as a place for disenfranchised people to gather and organise. Jura Bookshop is located at 440 Parramatta Road, Petersham.
If you would like further information about the exhibition or are able to help look after the collection, please phone 0422 662 237.
[Paul McCarten is a member of the Jura Books Collective.]<|>
From Green Left Weekly, June 25, 2003.
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