Protest & Progress: A Poster-Making Workshop

Friday, February 26th, 2021 @ 8:00 pm

Leonard Freed (American, 1929–2006), Two children stand in front of black awareness sign, New York City, ca. 1970. Gelatin silver print. Princeton University Art Museum. Gift of M. Robin Krasny, Class of 1973, in memory of Dr. Robert Curvin, Graduate School Class of 1975
© Leonard Freed / Magnum Photos

Join the Student Advisory Board of the Princeton University Art Museum for a live art-making program that will prompt you to think about ways of showing up for issues affecting your communities. Reflecting on the work of artist Elizabeth Catlett (1915–2012), Art & Archaeology PhD student Charmaine Branch will introduce the historical significance of posters in Black liberation movements. We will discuss Catlett’s prolific printmaking during the 1960s and ’70s and look at the value of contemporary art in the Black Lives Matter movement today. Following this introduction, SAB President Jaimee Simwinga ’23 will lead participants in a brief brainstorming session about tangible measures for creating substantive change in local communities. Then artist and instructor Katie Truk will lead students in a poster-making activity, exploring the ways in which combinations of different fonts, colors, and layouts can function to create an effective poster. 

Materials List

  • Drawing paper
  • Any type of mark-making tool: pencils, pens, markers, crayons, colored pencils or paint would all work well
  • This class will focus on preparing a sketch for your poster. If you want to complete your poster after the session, you might want to purchase poster board in your preferred size.

Open only to Princeton University students. Students must register with their Princeton University email address.