Bea Alerte: Cold War Queer Safety Posters
In this poignant reimagining of Cold War-era propaganda, Christos Pantieras repurposes Bea Alerte, a 1950s Canadian Civil Defence mascot, to address the modern "emergency" of rising anti-queer rhetoric and social paranoia.
Discovered during his 2022 residency at The Diefenbunker: Canada’s Cold War Museum, this series of nine posters shifts Bea’s role from a vintage safety icon to a mobilizing force for the LGBTQ+ community amidst contemporary protests and demonstrations. By blending news-inspired illustrations with the Queer Pride flag aesthetics, the project documents troubling events from recent Ottawa history, while urging queer individuals to remain both vigilant and resilient.
