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Printmaking and the Politics of Protest Course Presents: A Conversation with Shepard Fairey

March 30, 2021

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MACOMB, IL – Western Illinois University students and faculty are invited to be part of a unique opportunity, a live Zoom webinar with internationally-known artist Shepard Fairey, at 5 p.m. EST, Monday, April 5.

The event is being organized and moderated by Tyanna J. Buie, Assistant Professor/Section Chair of Printmaking at The College for Creative Studies, Detroit, MI, and Susan Czechowski, Professor of Art and Design at WIU.

Art students and alumni from over 10 universities and private art schools Buie has relationships with are being asked to take part, including WIU and the College for Creative Studies in Detroit, MI. The 60- to 75-minute Zoom webinar event will be recorded and later released on accessible platforms, such as Spotify and YouTube.

Students and alumni will be invited to submit questions for Fairey to the moderators prior to the recording. Invited schools include the University at Wisconsin-Madison; the University of Iowa; the University of Michigan; the University of Arizona; the Milwaukee Institute of Art and Design; the Paris College of Art; Lawrence University; Virginia Commonwealth University and more.

About Shepard Fairey

Fairey is best known for creating the "Hope" campaign poster, used by former President Barack Obama, but he most recently spearheaded the "Voting Rights are Human Rights" social justice mural in Milwaukee, WI, which Buie was one of five contributing artists for. The mural was originally part of a national tour to support the 2020 election, and the central portrait is based on an original photograph by Steve Schapiro.

The tour had to be cancelled because of the COVID-19 pandemic, but Fairey remained committed to installing the mural on the Colby Abbott building in downtown Milwaukee, and it was completed in October.

For more information about Fairey, visit obeygiant.com, or watch the Obeygiant documentary on Hulu.

Topics Fairey will cover in his presentation may include a combination or focus solely on:

• Brief overview or his body of work as it pertains to his art practice, politics and social justice

• Collaboration – Voting Rights Mural
• Community-Based Partnerships

• Current and Upcoming Projects

• Advice for emerging artists with an interest in social justice work

One-two questions for Fairey can be uploaded to the tbuie@collegeforcreativestudies.edu, with the subject line (Questions for Shepard Fairey) by noon Wednesday, March 31. Indicate in the email if you would like to remain anonymous.

Registration for the webinar can be completed at collegeforcreativestudies.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_72arywQBTymQc1ewebTsFQ.


Moderator Information:

Tyanna J. Buie, Assistant Professor/Section Chair of Printmaking at The College for Creative Studies, Detroit, MI

Bio: A Chicago and Milwaukee native, Buie received her BA from WIU, and her MFA from the University of Wisconsin-Madison. In 2012, Buie received an emerging artist Mary L. Nohl Fellowship, and is the recipient of the 2015 Love of Humanity Award from the Greater Milwaukee Foundation, the recipient of the prestigious 2015 Joan Mitchell Painters and Sculptors Grant, the 2019 Kresge Artist Fellowship/Visual Arts, the 2019/2020 Grant Wood Fellowship in Printmaking at the University of Iowa in Iowa City, IA, and the 2020 Fellowship.art award, a top accelerator award/program funded through gener8tor.

Buie's work has been acquired by major institutions and private collections nationally, and her work has been reviewed on Hyperallergic.com and featured on Essay'd.com.

tyannajbuie.com

Susan Czechowski, Professor, Art and Design, WIU

As an artist, Czechowski fell in love with screen printing 20 years ago when she was lucky enough to work on several pieces for Roy Lichtenstein. Since then, she has taught thousands of students silkscreen and printmaking techniques as a professor at WIU.

Czechowski has exhibited her own work in numerous gallery and museum settings across the United States and Europe. She has been awarded residencies and exhibitions at Grafische Werkplaats in the Netherlands, and Prairie Center of The Arts, Peoria, IL.

She holds a B.A. in Art and Art History from Washington College, and an M.F.A. from Syracuse University—and feels the same excitement each and every time she pulls a squeegee across a fresh sheet of paper.

susanczechowski.com

Czechowski was one of Buie's most impactful professors at WIU between 2004-2006, and the alumna refers to her as a lifelong friend and mentor.

Posted By: University Communications (U-Communications@wiu.edu)
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