Messages of Hope and Outrage
Posters are important as visual chronicles of history. In Bangladesh, a country with an extremely volatile recent past, posters can be seen everywhere but they are rarely preserved.
This is why the International Institute of Social History (IISH) and Heritage – Archives of Bangladesh History (Rajshahi, Bangladesh) decided to begin a collection.
Our large and growing holdings show the enormous range of ideas and emotions that posters in Bangladesh seek to communicate. Outrage, humour, hope and a strong sense of justice all vie for attention.
The posters are from all parts of the country. Some have only a local reach; others address a national audience and deal with international issues.
Despite the fact that they come in many designs, these posters reveal a distinctive Bangladeshi style of layout and artwork.
Here we present a small selection. Labour relations and progressive politics are highlighted, but the posters cover many other themes, such as religion, health, development, the Bangladesh Liberation War, education, sports and the arts.
Click at the bottom of the page to explore the various themes.
Part of the posters presented here (e.g. those with call numbers) is in Amsterdam; reproductions may be ordered though the IISH catalogue. The other part is in Rajshahi, Bangladesh.