Bama Bus

STENCIL AMERICA! Brief Bio
For those of us who cannot drop everything and join the campaign as full-time anythings, and have contributed as much as we can afford, one of the best ways to show our support and engage our fellow citizens into politically and community based discussion is wearing our support on our sleeves, litereally. But campaign shirts can be pricey, they don’t necessarily depict why I, as an individual, support Barack Obama; and I don’t want to look like everyone else. This was the motivation for Gadi as he designed Stencil America!

The idea
Having seen the success of Shepard Fairey’s Obama print, Gadi had an art lightbulb go off. Design cool, yet simple prObama stencils so that anyone can use one and have their shirt turn out great. And since everyone will be hand made by their owner, no two shirts will be the same – conveying that we are a nation of politically conscious and actively participating individuals, not a flock of sheep blindly following anyone.

Further, we can make the stencils available on the internet to anyone, so that fellow citizens across the country can download them and make their own customized stenciled clothing and teach their friends to do it too.

Further, for those who are ambitious enough, we can take the stencils and t-shirts to the streets and engage fellow citizens into to discussion and art by giving them the opportunity to make their own shirt, bags, umbrellas, etc.; or participate in the creation of a mural on canvas, cotton or wood, in public!

http://www.artthechange.org/obamamobile/index.html

The Manifest Hope Gallery will be open to the public in Denver, CO at the Democratic National Convention, between Monday August 25th, 2008 through Thursday, August 28th, 2008 between the hours of 10:00 am - 5:00 pm.

The Manifest Hope Gallery, housed within Denver’s Andenken Gallery, and an additional transformed warehouse space, spans 10,000 sq. ft. and will draw together works as varied as the voices of the artists who created them. Manifest hope will showcase some of the finest modern contemporary artists, acclaimed NY painters and sculptors, activated grass roots and street artists, and present the most widely recognized pieces seen throughout the 2008 presidential primary campaign, as well as newly commissioned works and previous works on loan from some of the United States top artists.

Manifest Hope, along with its online partner MoveOn.org, challenges the artistic world to engage their local communities in a significant and meaningful way, by inviting all artists to compete for a chance to present their works alongside these acclaimed and celebrated artists. Visit the online gallery for details.
Manifest Hope Gallery

2990 Larimer Street
Denver, CO 80205
www.manifesthope.com

An art gallery in New York has put on an exhibition centred around Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama.

Link to original article including video footage of exhibit

The event at the “Manifest Hope Gallery” boasts a variety of pieces from Mr Obama’s campaign including mixed media, political posters, paintings, sculptures, plastic figures of Mr Obama and even his basketball shoes.

The show’s producer, Yosi Sargent, says the artistic community is electrified by Mr Obama’s candidacy: “Barack Obama is the first presidential candidate to have an official arts policy.

“There are known Republicans in this show who are excited about the Barack Obama campaign.

“They know, and they see the attention that the Barack Obama campaign is putting towards the art community.”

The gallery will be open for one week and afterwards the works will be returned or auctioned.

Proceeds from the event will be used to fund voting efforts in key battleground states in November.

© Independent Television News Limited 2008. All rights reserved.