A bold new exhibition celebrating 200 years of British poster design is opening in Bath this month — and it’s been created with families firmly in mind.
Poster Power! launches at the Victoria Art Gallery on 23 January, combining striking historic posters with a free children’s trail, hands-on activities and school holiday crafts.
The exhibition brings together eye-catching advertising posters from the 19th and 20th centuries, many drawn from the collections of the Victoria Art Gallery and Bath Record Office.
As families explore the displays, younger visitors can follow a free children’s trail and enjoy interactive elements throughout the gallery. These include a ride-on train inspired by vintage railway posters, a farm-themed activity area, creative play stations, books and a fuzzy felt animal wall.
Alongside the family activities, the exhibition explores how posters have been used to promote theatre, entertainment, travel, political campaigns and even World War One recruitment.
Visitors can trace how poster design evolved alongside society, offering a colourful and often nostalgic journey through two centuries of British life.
Many of the posters on display have strong local connections. These include designs advertising productions at Theatre Royal Bath, the Bath & West Show, Walcot Street community events and Bath Festivals across the decades.
One highlight pairs two posters for Richard III: an 1805 text-only playbill and a bold 1989 design featuring Derek Jacobi. Seen together, they show just how dramatically poster design has changed over nearly 200 years.
The exhibition also showcases work by Bath-based designers Clifford and Rosemary Ellis. The creative partnership became known in the 1930s for influential poster designs for London Transport and Shell, using bold colour, strong graphic forms and themes inspired by the British countryside.
A stunning selection of vintage railway posters is also on display. These elegant designs promoted Bath as a destination, celebrating its Georgian architecture and The Roman Baths during the golden age of rail travel.
Alongside Poster Power!, the Small Gallery is hosting Thea Dupays: A Life of Painting. Free to enter, it celebrates the artist’s 92-year career with expressive still lifes, landscapes and portraits, all available to view — and purchase.
Poster Power! runs from 23 January until 10 May 2026 at the Victoria Art Gallery, Bath.
Tickets cost £9 for adults and £4 for children over six. Entry is free for under-6s and Bath & North East Somerset residents with a Discovery Card.
A free guided tour takes place every Thursday from 1.30pm to 2pm and is included with an exhibition ticket.
What’s on highlights
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Thea Dupays: A Life of Painting – now until 23 March, Small Gallery, free entry
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Clifford & Rosemary Ellis: Poster Artists Extraordinaire – Wednesday 25 March, 6–8pm. Tickets £15 (£7.50 with Discovery Card), including exhibition entry
More information is available at victoriagal.org.uk.
