Fallout: Atoms for War & Peace at Poster House

Poster House, the first museum in the United States dedicated to the global history of posters, will present new exhibitions for the spring 2025 season. Fallout: Atoms for War & Peace will open to the public on March 13, 2025 and close on September 7, 2025.

Fallout: Atoms for War & Peace, curated by Angelina Lippert and Tim Medland, chronicles the global development of the nuclear industry by examining posters that both promoted and protested its use through the second half of the twentieth century. Over 60 posters examine how scientists around the world developed the nuclear bomb and nuclear power stations following World War II, and how the development of nuclear energy led to the threat of nuclear war and later, the development of harnessing nuclear energy for peace as an inexpensive electricity source.

It features the entirety of Erik Nitsche’s iconic General Dynamics series designed for the industrial company which promoted President Eisenhower’s slogan “Atoms for Peace” in six languages and has since become a worldwide touchstone of 20th century design, informing the public about atomic research and advances in nuclear technology, while famously also serving as an example of corporate propaganda. Also featured are numerous posters by the celebrated British designer Peter Kennard whose anti-nuclear protest posters were recently featured in the Imperial War Museum and in a retrospective at Whitechapel Gallery in London. This exhibition is supported by the Simons Foundation.