During the 1950s and 1960s, communist Poland was a grey and gloomy place. So it makes sense that the Polish people were naturally drawn to the vibrant colors and thematic artistic works (in addition to low cost) of movie, play, and musical posters hung up outside of the government approved cinemas and theaters.
The popularity of the medium sparked the annual Warsaw Poster Art Competition, the world famous Biennale, in 1966, and led to the opening of the Poster Museum two years later upon the donation of 13,000 items from the National Museum in Warsaw. At its opening the Poster Museum became the first museum in the world dedicated to the art and presentation of this art medium.
The museum is still growing, with over 61,000 posters in its collection; 36,000 representing the history of poster art in Poland, and 500 preserved pieces from World War II. The small space is constantly rotating through its massive collection by way of temporary exhibits with interactive displays and multimedia presentations and is bound to be a different tract from the normal national art museum and quite the contrast to the stuffy Royal Palace just 50 meters away.