Writing on the wall

Since its first edition in 1966, Warsaw's International Poster Biennale (IPB) exhibition has been an important event for artists from around the world. Artists from the famous Polish school of poster art were given an opportunity to exchange their experiences in life and art with other artists from various parts of the globe, often from the other side of the Iron Curtain. The artistic interaction and influx of new ideas inspired Polish artists to express their beliefs of freedom and democracy, challenging the oppressive establishment.

Nowadays, when artists in Poland have more freedom to express their views, Warsaw's Bienalle is inspiring those in other countries where artistic freedom is still held back.

This prestigious event, held every two years, gathered artists from 39 different countries. The large number of works presented this year (647) seems to confirm the growing popularity of poster art.

Members of the jury from the Czech Republic, Finland, France, Poland and Slovenia awarded artists in four categories: Ideological Posters (winner - Michael Quarez); Posters Promoting Culture (winner - Uwo Loesch); Advertising Posters (winner - Aimo Katajamaki); and the Henryk Tomaszewski Debuts (winner - Aleksander Czyż).

Apart from the main exhibition, this year's Bienalle boasted several other events, such as an exhibition of Japanese posters, art auctions and presentation of works by IPB's jurors.

The exhibition will be open until September 29 and more information can be found at http://www.postermuseum.pl/.