Shepard Fairey murals across Dayton remind community to ‘get out the vote’

The artist, known for his 2008 Obama ‘Hope’ design, visits Dayton on his Ohio tour
Artist Shepard Fairey places a mural Wednesday, Sept. 18, 2024, on the Dayton Metro Library Downtown. MARSHALL GORBY\STAFF

Artist Shepard Fairey places a mural Wednesday, Sept. 18, 2024, on the Dayton Metro Library Downtown. MARSHALL GORBY\STAFF

Internationally known artist and Obey Clothing founder Shepard Fairey was in Dayton this week as part of a statewide initiative to inspire voter engagement ahead of the November general election.

Fairey installed five wheatpaste murals that he designed at locations throughout the region, beginning with the Dayton Metro Library’s main branch downtown.

Fairey and his small team arrived in front of the library around 4:30 p.m. Wednesday. Within nine minutes, the crew had installed a 6-by-8-foot red, white, and blue mural portraying a mix between a ballot box and an audio speaker, with four lightning bolts meeting at the center, and the word, “VOTE!” written across the top.

“This is a call to action provided by Obey,” is written along the mural’s bottom, along with the Obey star symbol, both signatures of Fairey’s design.

Muralist Shepard Fairey, places a mural Wednesday 18, 2024 on the Dayton Metro Library Downtown. MARSHALL GORBY\STAFF

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The murals aim to inspire residents to vote. The art installations are nonpartisan in nature and impermanent, estimated to fade from normal wear in tear within a year of placement.

The Dayton area was one stop on Fairey’s tour of Ohio, as murals were also installed around Cincinnati, Columbus, and Cleveland.

The initiative was sponsored locally by the Kettering Foundation, which teamed up with CreativeOhio, a statewide advocacy group championing creativity as a core economic driver, and ArtsVote Ohio, a nonpartisan statewide effort to get members of the creative sector to the polls.

The Kettering Foundation’s Democracy and the Arts program aims to use the arts to inspire the community to engage in the democratic process.

“We partner with organizations statewide and nationally to affirm and advance inclusive democracy; that’s our main goal,” said Joni Doherty, senior program officer for Democracy and the Arts. “... We focus on projects that use the special things art can bring to communicating, exploring, and expressing ideas about democracy.”

Fairey is well-known for his design of the Barack Obama “Hope” poster for the 2008 U.S. presidential election, which portrays the bust of then-presidential candidate Obama in red, white, and blue.

Muralist Shepard Fairey, places a mural Wednesday 18, 2024 on the Dayton Metro Library Downtown. MARSHALL GORBY\STAFF

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Fairey has long been a supporter of voter rights and using his art to encourage voters to participate.

“It’s an important moment in American politics, and it’s a moment to bring a get-out-the-vote message to the streets,” Fairey said. “I’m excited to be in Ohio right now to not only get art out there but also to be part of a movement to recognize the ideals of democracy. I believe that democracy functions most ideally when as many as possible participate.”

The Kettering Foundation’s Democracy and the Arts will also sponsor a yard sign initiative in the coming days. Signs will feature images from Ohio artists and will include a website that offers voting information, along with details about the featured artwork and artist.

Signs will be distributed at the Dayton Democracy Summit at Sinclair on Friday, and at other sites around Dayton beginning next week, Doherty said.

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