Two leading Washington arts non-profits issued a national open call today, challenging the country’s visual artists to create visually powerful, non partisan get-out-the-vote posters for an exhibition to open October 9th (through Election  Day) in the Nation’s Capital and online.

The exhibit is titled GOOD TROUBLE / U DECIDE: America’s artists honor the legacy  of John Lewis. 

“We’re asking America’s artists to create visually  powerful get-out-the-vote posters urging the country’s  voters to vote in what may well be the most important  election of our time,” said Charles Krause, founding  director of Washington’s CENTER FOR CONTEMPORARY POLITICAL ART (CCPArt).

“It doesn’t matter if they’re Democrats or Republicans,” Krause said. “This election will be as much a referendum on our system of government as it is a choice between the two candidates. The number of voters who vote by mail or at the polls will demonstrate our collective commitment to the democratic system enshrined in our Constitution that’s provided the framework for evolution and peaceful change in the United States for more than two centuries.”

“No one did more to extend the full measure of citizenship to all Americans than John Lewis,” added Melvin Hardy, co-founder of Millennium Arts Salon, Washington’s leading arts organization dedicated to promoting African and African American visual art, and the artists who create it, in the National Capital region.

“We honor John Lewis’ legacy, and continue his work, hoping these posters will remind all Americans that the best way to safeguard democracy is to exercise their right to vote. We’ll have only ourselves to blame if our indifference means we lose it.”

OUR FUTURE IS IN OUR VOTE by Ted Ellis

Artists are asked to provide original art, in any medium they choose, for nine issue-oriented posters highlighting the issues that have been decided, and will be decided, by the presidential and Congressional candidates who win in November. The issues range from gun control and law and order and to the pandemic and climate change.

Templates for the nine posters and the rules for artists wishing to submit work may be found at www.politicsartus.org/good-trouble. The deadline for submissions is Saturday, October 3rd. A jury of experts will select the winning entries and the organizers of the exhibit will print the posters (either horizontal or vertical) to be displayed in Washington beginning Friday, Oct. 9th. We venue for the exhibit and list of judges will announced later this week.

THE CENTER FOR CONTEMPORARY POLITICAL ART and Millennium Arts Salon are both 501-(c)-(3) nonprofit corporations registered in the District of Columbia. Media partners are artorofiler.com and Black Art in America.

Two of the nine templates and prototype posters are below.

FOR MORE INFORMATION, Please contact: Charles Krause @: charles@politicsartus.org or text (202-412-2324) OR Mel Hardy @: melvin.hardy@gmail.com