Get Out the Vote with art legend Shepard Fairey

Tuesday, Sept. 17, 2024 | 11:30 a.m.–1 p.m.

Shepard Fairey, the contemporary artist and activist whose many accomplishments include the Barack Obama “Hope” poster for the 2008 U.S. presidential election, visits Ohio this week to discuss street art as a powerful force for social change—and you are invited to be part of the conversation.

Use the livestream link at artacademy.edu to join fellow college students from art schools around the globe for Fairey’s talk, which he is set to deliver from the Art Academy of Cincinnati from 11:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. Tuesday, Sept. 17—a date that marks both Constitution Day and National Voter Registration Day.

Fairey’s visit comes as part of a nonpartisan Get Out the Vote mural project that includes the creation of a large-scale mural in Cincinnati and many more smaller, temporary wheat paste murals in Cincinnati and Columbus—including on Columbus College of Art & Design’s campus—this month.

Activating voter engagement
With the Tuesday, Nov. 5, election fast approaching, WHAT art organizations across Ohio are working to ignite voter enthusiasm, grow election participation, and ensure that those who are eligible to vote do so by the state’s Monday, Oct. 7, registration deadline. Fairey and his team will work with local artists and apprentices ages 18–24 to install murals this week in Columbus and Cincinnati. In addition:

Fairey will take the stage at 6 p.m. Sept. 17 at the Contemporary Arts Center’s Black Box Theater for a public talk about his artistic journey and how public art can drive civic engagement and inspire communities. Reserve a seat for the CAC lecture here.
Ohio artists—three each from Columbus, Cincinnati, Cleveland, and Dayton—will create 18′′ x 24′′ full-color signs that will be provided for free to Ohio residents. A full list of arts organizations and sign-distribution locations will be shared online at artworkscincinnati.org.
Columbus’ Orange Barrel Media will showcase Fairey’s murals, along with the work of the 12 Ohio-based artists, across their network of 180-plus IKE Smart City kiosks in Columbus, Cincinnati, and Cleveland.
Volunteers will be at CCAD’s Crane Cafe at lunch on Sept. 17; Thursday, Sept. 19; Monday, Sept. 23; and Wednesday, Sept. 25, to help students learn more about the General Election, check their voter registration, and register if they haven’t already done so. Students, faculty, and staff are encouraged to visit TurboVote (ccad.turbovote.org) for key info on registering to vote and confirming existing registration info, applying for absentee ballots, double-checking voting locations, and more.

About Shepard Fairey

Born in 1970, Shepard Fairey has been a major figure of the contemporary street art movement. He rose to prominence in the early 1990s with his “Andre the Giant Has a Posse” campaign, which distributed posters, stickers, and murals featuring the eponymous wrestler around Providence, Rhode Island. Fairey’s iconic 2008 “Hope” campaign poster for President Barack Obama encapsulates a number of the artist’s recurring concerns, including propaganda, portraiture, and political power. Fairey’s work can be found in the collections of the Museum of Modern Art in New York, the Victoria and Albert Museum in London, and the National Portrait Gallery in Washington, D.C.

Fairey said of the Get Out the Vote initiative, “It’s an important moment in American politics, and it’s a moment to bring a get-out-the-vote message to the streets. I’m excited to be in Ohio right now to not only get art out there but also to be part of a movement to recognize the ideals of democracy. I believe that democracy functions most ideally when as many as possible participate.”

About the Get Out the Vote mural project

Cincinnati-based ArtWorks is teaming up with arts organizations across the state to reignite voter enthusiasm and drive participation in this year’s General Election. This includes organizing the nonpartisan “Get Out the Vote” mural project with renowned street artist Shepard Fairey, including the creation of a large-scale mural in Cincinnati; dozens of smaller, temporary wheat paste murals in Cincinnati and Columbus; and a permanent mural—Fairey’s first in Ohio—in Cincinnati’s Over-the-Rhine neighborhood.

Fairey’s activities, including the livestreamed conversation with college students, comes in partnership with statewide partners CreativeOhio, the Greater Columbus Arts Council, ArtsVote Ohio, the Association of Independent Colleges & Universities of Ohio, Columbus College of Art & Design, and others.