Campaign for a New China:
Looking Back on Posters from the Cultural Revolution, 1966-1976

February 9-May 19, 2019

In 1976, Bethel College peace studies professor Robert Kreider traveled to China on a friendship tour, where he collected dozens of the popular posters that spread Mao Zedong’s vision for renewal in what became known as the Cultural Revolution. Upon return to Kansas, Kreider used the posters to help his students understand a particular time and place through their imagery. In Campaign for a New China, we look back on these posters and invite you to reflect on their messages.

Exhibit Team
Rachel Epp Buller, Bethel College associate professor of visual arts and design: lead curator

Elizabeth Friesen Birky: Bethel College student curator

Emma Girton: Bethel College student curator

Austin Prouty: Bethel College student designer

Renae Stucky: Kauffman Museum collections manager/Bethel College student curator

Elsie Deckert: Kauffman Museum photography assistant

Coel Ediger: Kauffman Museum exhibit assistant

David Kreider: Kauffman Museum technician

Rachel Pannabecker: Kauffman Museum curatorial liaison & editor

Chuck Regier: Kauffman Museum curator of exhibits

Weldon Schloneger: Kauffman Museum photographer

Kris I. Ercums and Pinyan Zhu: Spencer Museum of Art curatorial consultants

Zhuojun Jiang: Chinese language consultant

The exhibit team acknowledges the contributions of those who wish to remain anonymous.

Schedule and Programs
Grand opening: February 9, 7:00-9:00 pm Come-and-go event free to the public. Insights from Bethel College student curatorial-design team at 7:30 pm

Sunday-Afternoon-at-the-Museum, 3:00 pm

March 3: “Manipulating the Masses: Chinese Propaganda Posters” by Dr. Kris Ercums, Spencer Museum of Art

April 7: “Down to the Countryside: Perspectives on the Cultural Revolution” with Dr. Zhuojun Jiang, Dr. T. James Goering, and Esther Kreider Eash, moderated by Raylene Hinz Penner

Exhibit Support 
This exhibition and public programs are funded by the Kauffman Museum Association and Humanities Kansas, a nonprofit cultural organization connecting communities with history, traditions, and ideas to strengthen civic life.