An exhibition of Czechoslovak Film Posters from the 1960s and 1970s bearing witness to a unique era of non-commercial film advertising under a politically restrained regime – the art-form of the film poster at its artistic peak.  The exhibition entitled KINOPLAKAT 60/70 takes place at the HUB National Centre for Craft & Design Roof Gallery between 8 August and 27 September.

August 21st 1968 saw one of the most traumatic moments of European history take place in the (then) Czechoslovak capital Prague. Tanks from the Soviet Union, and other ‘Warsaw Pact’ countries, rolled into the city to crush a budding, reformist Czechoslovak regime of ‘communism with a human face’. Soon after, the Iron Curtain closed over the country and its people – it did not lift until 1989.

Czechoslovak film poster design of the period preceding and immediately following the Soviet invasion tells a more colourful and layered story. No single style dominated; while some designers adopted a powerful style of minimalism others freely borrowed art historical styles and typography from classical painting to surrealism and pop-art. In 1964, Brno Biennale, the first Czechoslovak exhibition dedicated to Poster and Applied Graphics, signalled the acceptance of poster design as an art form in its own right.

Film posters were not constrained by the commercial expectations normally demanded of advertising since film was very much seen as an educational tool under state command. This gave the designers a historic window of nearly unlimited artistic freedom which started ebbing in the early 1980s (with the onset of ideological censorship) and disappeared entirely in 1989. The arrival of market economy in the former communist countries came with its well known set of restrictions which reduced the film poster to a commercial advertising tool- as we know it today.

The 20 posters in the exhibition witness and illustrate this unique moment in design history.

On loan from the University of Brighton Design Archives.

Notes for Editors:
The Hub: National Centre for Craft & Design opened in October 2003. Located in the rural market town of Sleaford, Lincolnshire, The Hub is one of the largest spaces in the UK dedicated to the promotion and celebration of contemporary craft and design. As well as a café bar and shop, the Hub provides two gallery spaces with a changing programme of international and national craft and design

EXHIBITION INFORMATION
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DATES: Open to the public 8 August – 27 September
OPENING TIMES: 10.00 – 17.00 7 daily
ADDRESS: Hub: National Centre for Craft & Design, Navigation Wharf, Carre Street, Sleaford, Lincolnshire, NG34 7TW
ACCESS: the exhibition is accessible for all, disabled parking is available in East Gate car park and the exhibition space is accessible via a lift.
CONTACT DETAILS: hub@leisureconnection.co.uk, +44 (0)1529 308710
FURTHER INFORMATION: www.thehubcentre.info

Contact Susanne Sklepek (Exhibitions Officer) Susanne.Sklepek@thehubcentre.info or call 01529 308710 for further information and images.

Press release 7 June 2009.