The Lëtzebuerg City Museum has long wanted to set up an exhibition in close cooperation with its public. But this is not an easy task, especially as it is necessary to identify ‘who’ the public is. However, Anne Hoffmann, assistant curator, who managed the project with Kyra Thielen, head of the public service, was not discouraged and the two young women developed an ambitious project around the museum's poster collection.
One jury, six audience groups
In order to work in a pragmatic and constructive way, the two young women decided to set up six juries whose members were close to the museum and related to the theme:
• The 'experts' in graphic design, namely five agencies that had already worked with the museum
• The 'visitors' - a much larger and more complex group - which was embodied by members of the Association of Friends of the Museums
• The 'museum staff' embodied by those who are most often in contact with the works, namely the room guards
• A group of mediators, who are the people most in contact with the public
• A school group made up of children in the 7th year of the preparatory course at the Lycée des Arts & Métiers in Luxembourg
• Members of the Créamisu socio-cultural workshop managed by Caritas. It was a group further away from the cultural offer.
The selection of posters
"The museum has an extensive collection of around 2,500 posters," explains Anne Hoffmann. "We therefore had a large collection to select from. Therefore, we made an initial pre-selection of 254 posters which we then chose to submit to the juries."
After eliminating duplicates, works that were too old or fragile to be exhibited, posters produced during the 20th century by the great names of Luxembourg design, as well as posters representing historical moments in the city and the country, were pre-selected. This pre-selection was then divided into 14 categories such as tourism, politics, fairs, national lottery, theatre etc.
To facilitate the selection process, the museum developed a specific digital tool. "Each member of the jury was equipped with a tablet from which they could express their preferences on the 254 pre-selected posters via a dedicated website," explains Kyra Thielen. "We deliberately did not give too many indications and left the selection process quite free. We only suggested that we keep the posters that the jurors found beautiful, interesting in relation to the theme, or even provocative or shocking."
The 100 best posters
The result is a selection of 100 posters that offer an overview of the evolution of graphic art in Luxembourg and reflect the transformation of society, its tastes and mentality.
"So that visitors can have an immediate relationship with these graphic creations, we have also taken the decision not to present the original posters in a frame and coaster, but as prints of their photographs," explains Anne Hoffmann. These poster reproductions are then presented in an installation designed by Anouk Schiltz, whose work is regularly seen on theatre stages. She chose to work with a black metal structure in which the posters are suspended. "This spatial arrangement allows you to wander among the posters, just as you would in the street", Kyra Thielen points out.
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The reproductions of the posters are accompanied by a few quotes from the jury. There are also QR codes that the public is invited to scan. In this way, they can access contextual and historical information presented on the posters. This system ensures that the exhibition space is not overloaded with information and that the posters are given their full place.
In addition to the selection of the 100 posters, a selection of the 10 posters that were most appreciated by the juries is also presented. In contrast to the rest of the exhibition, the real posters are displayed in a museum-like manner, framed. For example, there is an advertisement for Pink Butter, a poster for the CFL and another for the Tour de Luxembourg.
"Usually the public has no say in the selection of the works on display.
An inclusive approach
"This exhibition offers an inclusive approach to the life of the museum," says Anne Hoffmann. "Usually, the public has no say in the selection of the works on display. This is always the job of the curators. Here, the approach is really different.
Educational workshops led by Irina Moons are organised to create one's own posters. The museum has also asked Daniel Wangen to create immersive animations based on posters from the collection, thus continuing the contemporary creation.
At the end of the tour, visitors are also invited to make their own selection and classification of posters. This selection is regularly analysed by the museum and the poster that most appealed to visitors is presented on a screen at the entrance to the exhibition. This is a way of bringing the selection by the public full circle, always interactive and participatory.
You can catch the ‘Best of Posters’ exhibition at the Lëtzebuerg City Museum until 14 January 2024. More details at
This article was first published in and has been translated by Delano.