Perry the Poster Man Needs Your Help!

Perry Giguere | Photo credit: Tim Matheson

You’d be hard-pressed to find an arts organization, performance venue, or artist in Vancouver that hasn’t come into contact with Perry Giguere, better known as Perry the Poster Man, at some time over the last 40 years. Not long after moving here in the late 1970s, he began distributing posters around town for all kinds of events, from exhibitions and concerts to festivals, rallies, and theatre. 

Along the way, Perry amassed an unofficial archive of extraordinary scope and beauty…and weight! Storage space for this immense collection is a challenge and Perry is considering ways to ensure this archive is maintained. He has recently undertaken the massive task of organizing and divesting of much of this collection, which he estimates he’s pared down from 250,000 posters to a mere 150,000, with the parallel goal of providing wider access to this unique view of Vancouver’s cultural past. 

Spurred on by interest following an exhibition of his collection at the Roundhouse as part of the Alliance’s 2013 Arts Summit, Perry considered ways to ensure that artists and arts organizations have access to posters for events and performances to which they have a personal connection. 

Perry is interested in working with members of the arts community who may wish to add to or create their own organizational archive of collectible event posters, while helping him curate a show highlighting his collection as it relates to Vancouver’s cultural and historical past. A website of the poster collection is now in the works, and will include an online blog and store. 

Anyone who has worked with Perry over the years knows how hard he works to support Vancouver’s arts community. Now is a great time to assist him in ensuring these important archives are preserved and shared. 

Those interested in obtaining posters for your organization's archives or discussing an exhibition of the collection are invited contact Perry at 604 874 6828 or by email at perrygiguere.pg@gmail.com.

Check out more on his Facebook group, Vancouver Vintage Posters.