Electricity poster, 150 years of advertising creations
From 25 Jun 2026 to 30 May 2027
Exposition temporaire
FreeThe Electropolis Museum unveils its new temporary exhibition "Electricity s'affiche, 150 years of creations", an invitation to rediscover more than a century of graphic creations and advertising design dedicated to electricity, from the late 19th century to the present. As soon as it appeared on the energy market around 1880, electricity was accompanied by inventive and exciting advertising. The electricity companies, then EDF from 1946 onwards, called on numerous illustrators and posterists, including the prestigious names of Paul Colin, Bernard Villemot, Lefor Openo and Jean Effel. These images were intended to make visible an energy by nature invisible, valuing the uses, comfort and modernity that it promised. Exceptionally, the Electropolis Museum exhibits original posters, rarely presented for conservation reasons, as well as drawings, films, games, mascots and advertising items from its rich collections. The exhibition highlights the singularity of electrical advertising: far from promoting a brand or object, it tells an energy, a service and their place in everyday life. Organised according to a thematic approach (allegories, pedagogy, home, place of women, domestic uses, environment, regions), "electricity" reveals how these images are valuable markers of the evolution of society, its ways of life and its relation to energy. This exhibition is also part of the 80th anniversary celebrations of the EDF group, a major player in the French electric history and great patron of the museum, whose commitment allows today the conservation, study and transmission of an exceptional advertising and graphic fund.
Mulhouse
55, rue du Pâturage
68200 Mulhouse
France
0389324850
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