Residents of Walpole will have an opportunity during the month of April to view a unique poster exhibit from the collection of Stephen Lewis. The theme of the exhibit, named "Green Politics," is posters about the environment. Many of these posters are from green movements and Green political parties in Europe. The theme of the exhibit may be green, but the posters are very colorful and thought-provoking. Although some of the posters are twenty years old, viewers see how the issues addressed are even more relevant today. The exhibit will be at the Walpole Public Library.
Lewis cites his concern for the future of the planet and life on it as his reason for creating this exhibit. “Our ability to protect the planet, our lives as we know them, and the future for our offspring, depends on making profound changes in how we mine, we produce energy, we transport, we live our lives, we eat, we develop agriculture and forestry, and we fish," he says. "It is an ongoing dialogue we need to be having in our government, our towns and cities, our neighborhoods, our places of worship, and our workplaces.”
The posters in this exhibit reflect some of the issues that Green Parties and environmental groups have been particularly focused on. They address things like renewable energy, vastly expanding public transportation to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, global warming, pollution, toxic waste, cloning, genetically modified plants, and protecting forests, among other subjects. The advancements in the US on these issues, while still not sufficient, are at risk of being totally negated.
This is an opportunity to see exhibits that incorporate art, history and politics. The posters are meant to inform, document and move to action. Mr Lewis has been collecting posters for the past 20 years and bringing them to the public through exhibits like this for the past 15 years. He has exhibited at many public libraries around the state. This is his third exhibit at the Walpole library. He estimates having about 7,100 posters in his collection. For more information, Mr. Lewis can be contacted at Lewisposters@gmail.com.
