So, earlier in the year we had an ambitious idea of putting together a postcard exhibition to celebrate the 150th anniversary of postcards, collecting images and messages from around the world to showcase our collective love for this small format of communication. We contacted a few people and then the opportunity came up to do this exhibition at the UPU, an incredibly important institution that brings all post offices together in cooperation.
They had lots of walls in their headquarters in Bern, though most of them were covered in art… except this one, a huge 10 meter wall divided in 2, on their ground floor lobby. It was black and had the peculiarity of having over 200 deactivated mailboxes on it. Postcards like mailboxes though, don’t they? It seemed like the perfect match, so we decided to go for it!
We received hundreds of postcards in the past couple of months on the call-for-postcards we launched for this exhibition. Choosing just a few of them was a hard job — some were gorgeous works of art, others had heartfelt messages and many were both!
While choosing the postcards to take, we noticed that many of them would be tricky to hang on a wall due to their thickness or odd shape. Also, some of the postcards only made sense if people could see both sides… so we came up with a solution: since we were sticking postcards on mailboxes, why not opening one and leaving some postcards there for people to browse?
This turned out to be a good call, as the “Browse me” encouraged people to get up and close with the postcards, giving them permission to touch and interact with the exhibition. For us personally, it also helped ease some of the pressure of picking just the right postcards, as we could bring a lot more of them!
Some of you have asked whether we’ve taken pictures of every postcard displayed, and I’m afraid we have not. Carefully shooting every single one would have taken a lot longer than the time we had. We brought as many postcards as we could to Switzerland though, posted some images on the 150yearsofpostcards.com website, and are planning to take some more photos of the postcards and their messages when they return to us at the end of October. We don’t want you to feel sad if yours didn’t end up at the UPU — all the postcards we’ve received are unique and so very appreciated. 💛
So finally, here is the result:
We’re very glad that everything went well, and that we were able to successfully display your messages, images and mini-masterpieces at the UPU. Although the building isn’t open to the public, many delegates from post offices all around the world will get to see and read your postcards throughout this month, while they attend the many events that are happening in October. We hope they too understand how special postcards are in the digital age, and what role they play in connecting our lives — and, indeed, the whole world.
And lastly, here’s a little making-of video of the whole setting up operation that we shot with a borrowed camera. 😊 It took 2 days to put together, with a lot of time spent cutting and measuring. Enjoy!
PS – Our big thank you to Olfa and Stéphane UPU’s philately department, for making this possible!
35 comments so far
Such awesome photos!!!! Thanks for making that video too, it's really nice to be able to see all the nice cards that were sent in for 150yearsofpostcards. :) Thanks a bunch, Postcrossing team! You guys are awesome.
Cool
Congratulation!
The exhibition look great!
I'm hope postcrosser in Thailand can have some mini exhibition too :D
The story about send-received card is make me happy everyday
Great project that will be enjoyed by many! Thanks for the hard work! Happy Postcrossing.
Fantastic job, well done.
Beautifully done! Love it! Demaris
Thank you for building this exhibition 😄👍Looking good🤩Waiting for to see more closely 😃💖💚💖
Great job! Have fun!
Great job! I'm proud of you and of us!!!
Bravo! That's really well done <3 <3 Thank you so much for making this real and build up such a wonderful project & exhibition <3<3<3<3<3
That exhibit is so cool! Congratulations on making such a beautiful exhibit!
This is so awesome! Postcards are my very favorite mail and have been for so long. It was so exciting to make and send in a couple of postcards for this historic event. I am beyond happy to see my quote on that wall. What an incredible honor for this lowly lover of the postcard.
Wow! Congratulations to the postcrossing team and the postcrossers worldwide!!!
The video is so mega great, fantastic.
So much work, so much effort. The result is simply a great postcard wall so mega beautiful.
A simply successful work, a thank you to all who have designed this wall.
And a hundred times the ladders are up and down :) :) :)
The photos from the wall, would be again a postcard motive.
Great! I love it. <3
Awesome!
OMG - You did by yourself also the decoration of the room!
You guys did an amazing job <3
Fantastic job! The exhibition is super cute and original! Great way to take advantage of the unused mailboxes :) So lovely to see all the celebrations!
This would make a great traveling exhibit, too. I am enjoying getting to see and read the postcards...please keep them coming!
arubatoots
Wow! Well done! The wall display looks wonderful! What a great way to display all the postcards you received.
Thank you for making this happen!
@Monika2019 (above) is right, you could take photos of sections of the display and turn them into postcards. You really should, you know, especially since the UPU building isn't open to the public. You could then sell the cards as a way to support Postcrossing and everything you need to make the magic happen 📬📮📯🥰
Congratulations and thank you for sharing with us this special moment!
Congratulations! I love how postcard connecting the people around the world. Let's keep postcrossing for another 150 years and onward.
150 years ,,plus more years to provide and /or keep freedom to the people connected by sending postcards and hugs.
Dear Friends, thank you for all your hard work in mounting such a wonderful exhibition - & for sharing it with us, via story & video. I feel like I have been part of it all, though I cannot travel to Switzerland. I am proud to be a PostCrosser, connecting & sending hugs around our world.
Wonderful to see the pictures and all the celebrations around the world! Thank you Ana and Paulo for promoting this great day to make it a true event that so many people enjoy!
The exhibit looks wonderful. I wonder if it would be possible to get a closer look at the cards, front and back? Could they maybe appear in the Gallery section of the Postcrossing website? Thanks,
Theresa
arubatoots USA
Thank you! This is a great exhibition. I like cards :)
Thank you, I'm so happy today, I see my postcard on the wall :). Thanks!!!
What a clever idea the Browse Me box was! And yo9u chose fabulous quotes about the joy of cards, mail, connections ... Well done. Hard work for you two.
What a fantastic display! And I'm humbled and surprised that you used my postcard! :-)
I am beyond thrilled to see my postcard on the wall in the exhibit! To be featured in a museum type setting has always been a dream of mine. I can't believe my dream has finally come true!!
Awesome 👏 video guys❣️Well done YOU! It makes me feel like I was there soaking up the excitement of the event ... this Postcrosser is SM:)ING from ear to ear Aussie style 🇦🇺
So happy and surprised to see my card on the wall! I feel famous! B)
Thanks for putting together such a nice presentation so we can all see it! I wish I could see it in person!
I applaud you! This is professional, beautiful and genius! Well done and thank you for representing all of us postcard-loving souls.
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