November 22, 2024

Civics

Art is a mirror to society. Artists and illustrators are holding up their view of the election results.

Shepard Fairey posted this work on his Instagram page in support of Trans Awareness Week. "I want to take a moment," he said, "to spotlight the need to love and support the LGBTQ community."

Shepard Fairey posted this work on his Instagram page in support of Trans Awareness Week. "I want to take a moment," he said, "to spotlight the need to love and support the LGBTQ community."

Shepard Fairey posted this work on his Instagram page in support of Trans Awareness Week. "I want to take a moment," he said, "to spotlight the need to love and support the LGBTQ community."

"Some might find it unproductive to dwell on the doom and gloom, but for many of the artists interviewed for this story, there is value in sitting with all of these feelings and capturing the mood of this moment before creating calls for action. 'It reminds people they’re not alone,' (illustrator Oliver) Jeffers says. 

“'I think there’s a place for artists to sit with discomfort, to capture the unfiltered emotions of our time, even if they feel bleak,' (art director and illustrator Jessica) Walsh says.

"Every artist has different methods of coping. Fairey, who created Barack Obama’s famous 'Hope' poster as well as Harris’s 'Forward' campaign, is adamant that the only value in the doom and gloom is if it serves as a 'wake-up call.' Because 'apathy lets the rust of bad ideas creep even further,' he says." - Elissaveta M. Brandon

ARTICLE: ‘All Those Feelings Rushed In’: Jessica Walsh, Shepard Fairey, and the Initial Art Response to Trump’s Win

Civics

Start where you live: Learning to see local power

BOOK: Hyperlocal: Place Governance in a Fragmented World

Civics

The places that hold us together

ARTICLE: Want to Support a Healthy Democracy? Start Here.

Civics

A pattern‑based approach to public problem‑solving

PDF: Pattern Languages for Public Problem‑Solving: Cultivating New Seeds for Social Change

Civics

America Unfinished: A plain-sight inventory of the state of the nation