At the heart of the exhibition are traffic-safety posters from different decades. Their visuals and messages reflect changing attitudes towards traffic behaviour and road culture over time. In Soviet Estonia, traffic propaganda was planned and systematic, providing work for many well-known artists and illustrators such as Edgar Valter, Ivar Tõnurist and Alfred Saldre. Only a small selection of their work is featured in this exhibition.
From the 1990s onwards, the Estonian Road Administration adopted a Nordic-inspired approach to traffic safety campaigns. Campaign messages and visuals became part of everyday life — not only as posters on street corners, but also through television, the web and social media. Thanks to the consistent and long-term efforts of many people, these campaigns have quietly contributed to making our daily lives safer.
The outdoor exhibition opening this season at the Estonian Road Museum highlights the dangers present in traffic while also showing how traffic safety messages, visual language and general attitudes have evolved over time. It explores how these ideas have been expressed by public authorities, artists and advertising agencies.
The exhibition features reproductions of posters from the collections of the Art Museum of Estonia, the National Library of Estonia and the Tallinn City Archives.
Last updated: 28.01.2026
