With 30 years in the making, the Museum of International Propaganda is open!
Lilka Areton views part of her collection of propaganda art at her newly opened Museum of International Propaganda in San Rafael, Calif. on Wednesday, May 11, 2016. (Alan Dep/Marin Independent Journal)
The Museum of International Propaganda, located in San Rafael, California, is open to visitors. It features hundreds of examples of political propaganda from around the world. The entire exhibit is comprised mainly of the vast personal collection of museum owners Tom and Lilka Areton. Pareti Mobile Walls is proud to have our moveable gallery walls as the backdrop of this important and interesting museum!
A result of lifelong travel
Tom and Lilka Areton are lifelong travelers – together they have visited 80 countries! During the course of their travels, they collected political propaganda from all over the world, ranging from the past to the present. This collection shows how different countries, including our own. This important museum demonstrates how governments have shaped ideologies abroad, as well as on our own soil. The museum features collections from the past and present.
The museum features posters, sculptures and other political art from over 25 different countries. The exhibits guide visitors through seven themes, techniques and styles of propaganda.
The couple also founded a student exchange program which brings over 12,000 foreign students to the U.S. each year. For over 35 years, Tom and Lilka Areton have operated a non-profit student exchange program, Cultural Homestay International (CHI) in Marin, California. During their travels they collected political propaganda. Prior to that, both Tom and Lilka travelled extensively. Tom lived in Socialist Czechoslovakia as a boy. Lilka traveled to the Soviet Union when she was 20, and many times thereafter. Tom’s mother lived under National Socialist German Worker’s Party (Nazi) as well as Communist propaganda for over 60 years. These experiences had a profound effect on their lives. In addition to helping students expand their worldview firsthand by studying abroad, their museum offers a an important glimpse of worldwide propaganda designed to influence citizens.
How do moveable gallery walls help museums like the Museum of International Propaganda?
Pareti’s moveable walls provided an easy way to create instant exhibit areas. The walls provided a way to create a fast and changeable floor plan and flow to the empty space. The museum can hang the many posters, framed prints, and artifacts on portable walls, just as they would their permanent walls. Pareti’s mobile walls don’t require the building’s interior to be changed. They are fast and easy to install, and can be easily maintained.
As with many of our customers, the existing large windows at the museum posed a interior design challenge. Pareti’s moveable gallery walls solved this problem. They can be placed around, or in front of windows without changing permanent structures. This allows curators to either block windows altogether, or use windows to offer patrons a peek into the exhibit to generate interest.
Subjectivity, disinformation, exaggeration, and the outright falsification of facts are the hallmarks of propaganda practitioners. Photo courtesy of The Museum of International Propaganda
The Museum of International Propaganda features a permanent collection of propaganda, including posters, paintings, sculptures and items from over a dozen countries. To learn more about the museum, you can visit their site www.propagandamuseum.net. Or, if you’re in the San Rafael area, be sure to stop in. Admission is free.
Setting up the walls and gallery before the big opening.