CENTER FOR THE STUDY OF POLITICAL GRAPHICS:

Until the Lions have their historians, tales of hunting will glorify the hunter.
—African Proverb

Political posters tell the stories of the lions. The Center for the Study of Political Graphics (CSPG) is an educational and research archive that collects, preserves, documents, and circulates posters relating to historical and contemporary movements for peace and social justice. CSPG demonstrates the power and significance of these artistic expressions of social change through traveling and online exhibitions, lectures, publications, and workshops. Through our diverse programs, CSPG is reclaiming the power of art to educate and inspire people to action.

With more that 75,000 domestic and international posters in its collection, CSPG maintains the largest archive of post World War II political posters in the U.S. and one of the largest in the world. Posters combine art, poetry, photography, literature, and history to educate about a variety of contemporary and historical issues including AIDS, ecology, homelessness, immigration, labor, racism, and sexism. They prompt debate and keep alive issues relevant to the human condition, reflecting diverse cultures and traditions. The domestic and international posters provide a historical context for subjects relevant to the diverse communities of Los Angeles County and around the world.

The archive includes works produced by offset, lithography, linocut, woodblock, silkscreen, stencil, and photocopy. Between one and two thousand posters are acquired annually, primarily through donation.

CSPG is moving its mission forward through two main programs: Exhibition Development, and a Preservation and Access project, Political Graphics ONLINE!

In the last 22 years, CSPG exhibitions have toured to more than 300 venues nationally and internationally. In addition to our active traveling exhibition program, we frequently loan posters to other institutions, such as the Smithsonian, Getty Institute, the Los Angeles County Museum of Art, the Victoria & Albert Museum in London, and the Centre Pompidou in Paris.

Through CSPG’s Political Graphics ONLINE. CSPG is cataloguing and digitizing the most relevant portions of its collection. Political Graphics ONLINE will be uploaded onto a user-friendly, searchable collections database to be launched through the Center’s website www.politicalgraphics.org. Through this effort, CSPG’s catalogued and digitized records will be made accessible for artists, students, faculty and scholars throughout the world.

Please check our website www.politicalgraphics.org for additional information about CSPG.