Printmaking and the Politics of Protest Course Presents: A Conversation with Shepard Fairey
March 30, 2021
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.
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.
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.
Quebec legislature member Youri Chassin has announced he’s leaving the Coalition Avenir Québec government to sit as an Independent.
He announced the decision shortly after writing an open letter criticizing Premier François Legault’s government for abandoning its principles of smaller government.
In the letter published in Le Journal de Montréal and Le Journal de Québec, Chassin accused the party of falling back on what he called the old formula of throwing money at problems instead of looking to do things differently.
Chassin says public services are more fragile than ever, despite rising spending that pushed the province to a record $11-billion deficit projected in the last budget.
He is the second CAQ member to leave the party in a little more than one week, after economy and energy minister Pierre Fitzgibbon announced Sept. 4 he would leave because he lost motivation to do his job.
Chassin says he has no intention of joining another party and will instead sit as an Independent until the end of his term.
He has represented the Saint-Jérôme riding since the CAQ rose to power in 2018, but has not served in cabinet.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 12, 2024.
MONTREAL – NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh says he will not be taking advice from Pierre Poilievre after the Conservative leader challenged him to bring down government.
“I say directly to Pierre Poilievre: I’m not going to listen to you,” said Singh on Wednesday, accusing Poilievre of wanting to take away dental-care coverage from Canadians, among other things.
“I’m not going to listen to your advice. You want to destroy people’s lives, I want to build up a brighter future.”
Earlier in the day, Poilievre challenged Singh to commit to voting non-confidence in the government, saying his party will force a vote in the House of Commons “at the earliest possibly opportunity.”
“I’m asking Jagmeet Singh and the NDP to commit unequivocally before Monday’s byelections: will they vote non-confidence to bring down the costly coalition and trigger a carbon tax election, or will Jagmeet Singh sell out Canadians again?” Poilievre said.
“It’s put up or shut up time for the NDP.”
While Singh rejected the idea he would ever listen to Poilievre, he did not say how the NDP would vote on a non-confidence motion.
“I’ve said on any vote, we’re going to look at the vote and we’ll make our decision. I’m not going to say our decision ahead of time,” he said.
Singh’s top adviser said on Tuesday the NDP leader is not particularly eager to trigger an election, even as the Conservatives challenge him to do just that.
Anne McGrath, Singh’s principal secretary, says there will be more volatility in Parliament and the odds of an early election have risen.
“I don’t think he is anxious to launch one, or chomping at the bit to have one, but it can happen,” she said in an interview.
New Democrat MPs are in a second day of meetings in Montreal as they nail down a plan for how to navigate the minority Parliament this fall.
The caucus retreat comes one week after Singh announced the party has left the supply-and-confidence agreement with the governing Liberals.
It’s also taking place in the very city where New Democrats are hoping to pick up a seat on Monday, when voters go to the polls in Montreal’s LaSalle—Émard—Verdun. A second byelection is being held that day in the Winnipeg riding of Elmwood—Transcona, where the NDP is hoping to hold onto a seat the Conservatives are also vying for.
While New Democrats are seeking to distance themselves from the Liberals, they don’t appear ready to trigger a general election.
Singh signalled on Tuesday that he will have more to say Wednesday about the party’s strategy for the upcoming sitting.
He is hoping to convince Canadians that his party can defeat the federal Conservatives, who have been riding high in the polls over the last year.
Singh has attacked Poilievre as someone who would bring back Harper-style cuts to programs that Canadians rely on, including the national dental-care program that was part of the supply-and-confidence agreement.
The Canadian Press has asked Poilievre’s office whether the Conservative leader intends to keep the program in place, if he forms government after the next election.
With the return of Parliament just days away, the NDP is also keeping in mind how other parties will look to capitalize on the new makeup of the House of Commons.
The Bloc Québécois has already indicated that it’s written up a list of demands for the Liberals in exchange for support on votes.
The next federal election must take place by October 2025 at the latest.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 11, 2024.
Montreal Mayor Valérie Plante is defending her decision to turn off comments on her social media accounts — with an announcement on social media.
She posted screenshots to X this morning of vulgar names she’s been called on the platform, and says comments on her posts for months have been dominated by insults, to the point that she decided to block them.
Montreal’s Opposition leader and the Canadian Civil Liberties Association have criticized Plante for limiting freedom of expression by restricting comments on her X and Instagram accounts.
They say elected officials who use social media should be willing to hear from constituents on those platforms.
However, Plante says some people may believe there is a fundamental right to call someone offensive names and to normalize violence online, but she disagrees.
Her statement on X is closed to comments.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 11, 2024.
