On October 23, the Stedelijk Museum in Amsterdam opened the exhibition NOW YOU SEE ME MORIA – POST/NO/BILLS #2. The exhibition is part of a new series by Thomas Castro, curator of graphic design: ‘to show current graphic design that responds to what is currently happening in the field and in society. In this case I wanted to give the residents of Moria agency to show their living conditions. It is impressive what the open call has brought about: all kinds of people felt the need to respond, from the professional designer to the 14-year-old layman behind his PC. The posters show the power of the graphic form, to convey a message with language and image.’

Starting with the Nederlands Fotomuseum in early June and followed by Foam in early July, the Stedelijk opening rounded up a series of exhibitions calling attention to the unbearable living conditions of the Moria refugee camp on Lesbos, Greece. The exhibitions highlighted the posters designed by 446 graphic designers from all over the world, based on pictures made by refugees in the camp. They had been produced within the context of a 2021 Valentine’s Day campaign organised by the collective behind Now You See Me Moria which was spread across major European cities by the movement’s strong international following. Noemí, a Netherlands-based Spanish photo editor who initiated the @now_you_see_me_moria Instagram account in 2020, gathered the posters in an ‘Action Book’ and ‘Action Kit’ (published by Paradox). Both contain all 446 posters as well as a choice of photographs. The kit is the unbound version of two books and is a ready-made exhibition that can go straight to the wall of an exhibition or billed in public space. The book empowers anyone to become a messenger of change: offer one to local or national politicians as well as media in order to give them courage to change their attitude fundamentally!

NOW YOU SEE ME MORIA – POST/NO/BILLS #2 at the Stedelijk features a printer which can be used by visitors to print out posters themselves. Now You See Me Moria can currently also be seen at the Weltmuseum in Vienna. Multiple exhibitions have found place since the launch of the publication in June in the Netherlands, Belgium, Spain, Portugal, Austria and Germany.

Stedelijk Museum, Amsterdam, the Netherlands, 23 Oct 2021 – 30 Jan 2022