Shepard Fairey: Voting Rights are Human Rights

Shepard Fairey is an artist renowned for his famous “Hope” image of Barack Obama as well as the artwork on the current cover of Time magazine. Mr Fairey has been equally active in Milwaukee, WI, where this month, along with local artists and the support of Wallpapered City, he painted a large voting rights mural on the Colby Abbot Building, located on Milwaukee St. The mural reads, “Voting Rights are Human Rights” and spans 7,400 square feet of wall space. Hanson Dodge, a Milwaukee-based independent advertising agency with deep ties to the community, documented the making of this mural. The project promotes unity, equity and creativity in Milwaukee. Fairey and his Obey Giant team worked with four Wisconsin artists — Tyanna Buie, Niki Johnson, Tom Jones and Claudio Martinez — along with Dyani White Hawk of Minnesota. In addition to Wallpapered City, local support was provided by Patti Keating-Kahn, Black Box Fund MKE, The Pfister and the Milwaukee Bucks. The mural is believed to be such a powerful expression that VISIT Milwaukee, which markets the Greater Milwaukee area, has added the “Voting Rights” mural to its list of many reasons to “Visit Milwaukee.”

Shepard Fairey –
“What I wanted to do on my last trip to Milwaukee is remind people how important it is to assert their right to vote. The inspiration behind the art of this “Voting Rights are Human Rights” mural is the image of an anonymous marcher from a civil rights march, originally photographed by Steve Schapiro. I felt that this subject is emblematic of the ongoing fight.

It was important to me that I wasn’t the only voice in this piece. I feel very lucky that artists Tyanna Buie, Niki Johnson, Tom Jones, Claudio Martinez, and Dyani Whitehawk, were open to being included in the mural to demonstrate the need for voting rights and racial and social justice! I hope that people will look at this mural and be reminded that their voice matters in shaping the future.

Special thanks to my mural crew for all the hard work, Hanson Dodge for this awesome video, and to Wallpapered City, Black Box Fund, the Milwaukee Bucks for the support on this project!”

Credits
Advertising Agency: Hanson Dodge, Milwaukee, USA
Executive Creative Director: Chris Buhrman
Creative Director: Joe Ciccarelli
Videographer: Brad Rochford
Art Director: Jillian Turbessi
Producer: Michael Joyce
Artist: Shepard Fairey
Obey Giant Team: Dan Flores, Nicholas Bowers, Rob Zagula, Luka Densmore, Jon Furlong, Victoria Yarnish
Contributing Local Artists: Tyanna Buie, Niki Johnson, Tom Jones, Claudio Martinez Dyani

This campaign is about:
Outdoor, OOH, Billboard, Print, United States, Public Interest, Shepard Fairey, Obey Giant, Hanson Dodge, United States Presidential election, US Election 2020, Street Art, Wallpapered City, Marketing and Advertising