By now, you’ve probably heard of the Green New Deal. Did you know that Franklin Roosevelt’s original New Deal hired out-of-work commercial artists during the Great Depression?
From 1936-1943, the WPA Poster artists designed, printed and distributed millions of posters to inspire a public consciousness about positive social change. The posters were custom designed and beautifully silkscreened by hand. Unfortunately, the government did not keep a central record of these posters and most of them have been lost and long forgotten.
Posters for the People was started by SIS director Ennis Carter to preserve the legacy of the WPA posters by putting this national treasure back into the hands of the American people. Our ongoing search through private and public collections has created the most comprehensive record of posters known to exist – more than doubling government estimates.
To celebrate the 75th Anniversary of the New Deal in 2008, we launched Posters for the People, with a book published by Quirk Books, hosted a city-wide festival, and created an online “living archive” to document and present the posters. Since then, we’ve sponsored a New Deal Film Festival and curated exhibits at the National Constitution Center, Adrienne Theatre, Mural Arts Program, Penn State, and many more.
First West Coast Exhibit!
Jan 31 – Feb 9, 2020
MutMuz Gallery, Los Angeles
In early 2020, MutMuz Gallery hosted an exhibit of original WPA posters from the 1930s & 40s that promoted public programs, shared values and everyday American culture. Many in the exhibit had not been on public display for more than 80 years.
From the collections of Henry Vizcarra, Ennis Carter & Posters for the People.
OPENING NIGHT
Friday, January 31, 2020 • 5:00 pm
WPA Poster exhibit/talk with Ennis Carter, curator & author of Posters for the People
New Deal Film Festival
January 31 – February 9, 2020
See WPA film footage & New Deal propaganda
Hands-On Screenprinting Workshop
Saturday, February 1st • Saturday, February 8th
12pm – 4pm
Delaware Water Gap National Recreation Area Commemorative Poster Commission
And here it is! The national park poster designed by Ennis Carter for the Delaware Water Gap National Recreation Area thanks to an NEA-funded project in collaboration with the Peters Valley School of Craft.
Limited edition versions of the hand-silkscreened 5 color large repros available here.
