Praise and propaganda

Praise and propaganda – from daily life to celebration

01.12.2024 – 16.02.2025

The exhibition Praise and propaganda - from daily life to celebration presents 180 posters that tell stories spanning activism, political protests, climate awareness, artistic creativity, community meetings, support parties, and birthday celebrations in Christiania over the decades.

Photo: Jan Søndergaard

Posters have always played a very important role in both internal and external communication in Christiania.

Most posters are related to an event: an Action Day with work for the community, a fundraising party for the children’s ski trip, a Midsummer’s Eve or Winter Solstice celebration, a Christmas market or Christmas Eve in the Grey Hall, a concert at Loppen, Nemoland, or Café Moon Fisher, a cabaret or Sønderho dance in the Opera, an exhibition at Gallopperiet, a funeral in Our Saviour’s Church, a lecture, film screening, or community meeting, a municipal election, a demonstration at Christiansborg, and so on. But many posters have been created based on the motto: Rather a poster without an event than an event without a poster.

Therefore, there are also posters depicting the Queen with a Christiania diadem and earrings, a bouquet of dried flowers with the text ‘Let Christiania live,’ a lotus flower with the smoggy city as a backdrop, drawings of Christiania’s recycling ideas, paintings with Christiania motifs bearing only the word ‘Christiania,’ and posters that subtly and artistically express and evoke love and respect for the Freetown Christiania. A very special genre is the birthday posters, which have no other purpose than to give an artist the opportunity to showcase their skills, share their joy, and honor the birthday celebrant. Other posters are more explicitly debate-oriented, propaganda-like, and convey opinions on current issues, including the challenges associated with Christiania’s general acceptance of hash as an intoxicant and a marketplace that has attracted police and criminals in a spiral of violence around Pusher Street.

Foto: Jan Søndergaard

Overall, the Christiania posters reflect that they have consistently been a tool in the internal and external struggles for the survival of Christiania. This is evident in their direct messages but also through the artistic energy and care largely invested in their creation. This dedication has ensured that the posters remain one of the most authentic expressions of Christiania’s spirit and ideals.

Photo: Jan Søndergaard

Photo: Jan Søndergaard

The exhibition is curated by Christiania’s city archivist Ole Lykke Andersen in collaboration with Ulrikke Neergaard, MAPS.

MAPS exhibition program 2024-2026 is supported by Det Obelske Familiefond.

 

MAPS Print Workshop for Children

Every day during the museum’s opening hours, we invite families to get creative in our print workshop, designed especially for the exhibition. Here, you can design and create your own personalized Christmas gifts, such as notebooks, posters, and postcards, inspired by the exhibition’s vibrant prints. The workshop is open and free to use throughout the museum’s opening hours.

Children have free admission, and adults accompanying a child receive a 50% discount.

Photo: MAPS

MAPS
Nørregade 29,
4600 Køge

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Tue – Sun: 11am–5pm

CAFÉ
Tue – Sat + 1st Sunday every month: 12–4pm