Raising funds and awareness for social, environmental, and political issues through hand printed posters.
Print for Advocacy is a collaborative project & exhibit between CultureWorks’ Student Advisory Council & Hope College’s first-ever screen printing class, led by Professor Lee Kang. In an effort to raise awareness and advocacy for issues including environmental sustainability, human rights, inclusivity, gun safety, etc., a group of 9 high school students and 11 Hope students designed and hand printed a small run of posters and other materials which were exhibited at Lemonjello’s Coffee for 3 weeks during Tulip Time. CultureWorks also hosted a night of Critique and Mocktails led by Professor Lee Kang, during which students shared about their work and received feedback. Many thanks to Kate Bolt of Living Lark for providing creative drinks!
As artists, we’re called to social justice and advocacy because we’re keenly aware of the deep brokenness in our world and we can envision a way forward – we can imagine a more just, whole, and healthy world and so we press into a longing for restoration and change. Our hope is that we can tackle brokenness with boldness, humility, and compassion – that we can educate and advocate without creating further divisions in our already polarized society. We long for wholeness, for reconciliation, and for a restoration of that which has been lost or sacrificed in the name of greed, pride, and fear.
Throughout spring semester, we challenged our Student Advisory Council to engage this work in the tradition of political posters (and we visited the Kruizenga Art Museum where students studied a specially curated collection of such work), but also with a spirit of hopefulness and a vision for change and reconciliation. What would it look like if we were given the opportunity to sit down and talk with our “opponent” face to face? How might such a conversation impact our work as artists?
We were overwhelmed by public support for this project – over 100 community members joined us for the opening reception at Lemonjelllo’s and we’ve sold nearly 50 posters, with several artists selling out their prints. Many thanks to LJ’s and to Lee Kang of Hope College! We’re also grateful to Fellowship Reformed Church, for their continued support of our Student Advisory Council!
~ Emily Christensen
As a medium for social change, posters record our struggles for peace, social justice, environmental defense, and liberation from oppression. From the confrontational and political, to the promotional, persuasive and educational, the poster in all its forms has persisted as a vehicle for the public dissemination of ideas, information and opinion. Posters are dissent made visible—they communicate, advocate, instruct, celebrate, and warn, while jarring us to action with their bold messages and striking iconography. Posters also serve as a telling indication of a graphic designer’s commitment to society when non-commissioned posters are created as vehicles to raise money to support political and humanitarian causes. Without a doubt, the poster remains the most resonant, intrinsic and enduring item in the arsenal of a contemporary graphic designer.
~ Elizabeth Resnick,
Professor and Chair of Graphic Design, Massachusetts College of Art and Design
