The iconic street artist Shepard Fairey has released a new series of posters titled, ‘We the People’ Series to Protest the election of Donald Trump as the 45th President of the United States of America. The posters, feature Native Americans, African Americans, Muslims, and Latinas. They were given out to protesters yesterday at the inauguration ceremony. The street artist’s “Hope” poster from President Barack Obama’s campaign is internationally recognised as one of the most important graphic design pieces of the 21st century.
“It’s really about making sure that people remember that ‘we the people’ means everyone, it means all the people” Shepard Fairey
The new series was Commissioned by The Amplifier Foundation, a self-described art machine for social change, Fairey teamed up with Jessica Sabogal and Ernesto Yerena to release a series of posters for a new project: We the People. Their goal was to the campaign to flood DC with the posters on the day of the inauguration. While people can purchase the series online, The Amplifier Foundation has another more accessible aim: raise enough money to purchase ads in The Washington Post so people can “carry them into the streets, hang them in windows, or paste them on walls.”
Taking its name from the first line of the US constitution, the series We the People features portraits of Native Americans, African Americans, Muslims, and Latinas depicted in Fairey’s trademark style, with slogans such as “Women are Perfect” and “Defend Dignity.”
“It’s really about making sure that people remember that ‘we the people’ means everyone, it means all the people,” Fairey said. “I think the campaigns were very divisive, more from one side than the other. But [it’s] just reminding people to find their common humanity, and look beyond maybe one narrow definition of what it means to be American.”