ThoughtMatter’s 'Power to the Poster' Joins NYC’s Museum Mile to Raise Awareness About the War in Ukraine

13/06/2022

Lore

Marketing & PR

San Francisco, USA

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13/06/2022

Hosted at The Metropolitan Museum of Art, the project taps Ukrainian artists in moving tribute created to mobilize support in NYC

Posters don’t save lives, but they can be powerful tools in drawing the attention of people near and far. That’s why New York-based brand design studio ThoughtMatter commissioned Ukrainian artists to create posters and share their stories for their “Power to the Poster” project. The effort expresses support and solidarity with the Ukrainian people with the goal of raising awareness by printing and distributing 5000 posters across NYC. In recognition of its mission, the project has been accepted by The Metropolitan Museum of Art (MoMA) as a part of the Museum Mile Festival in New York City, a mile-long celebration of art and culture.

Billed as New York's biggest block party, Museum Mile Festival is part of Festival of New York, an annual citywide celebration featuring 200+ diverse organizations with events from Memorial Day to Labor Day 2022. Featuring the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum, Cooper Hewitt Smithsonian Design Museum, The Jewish Museum and others, the Museum Mile is anchored by a series of activities and artmaking stations along 5th Ave from 82nd Street to 110th Street, including one where MoMA will host the ThoughtMatter team as they distribute free posters created by Ukrainian artists Katalina Maievska and Masha Foya.

Katalina Maievska is a Kyiv-native graphic designer who began making protest visuals as a personal way to cope with the war’s impact on her country. Through her participation in “Power to the Poster”, she hopes that awareness will drive donations to help refugees and Ukrainian troops. Meanwhile, Masha Foya is an illustrator that has previously collaborated with Ukrainian and foreign magazines, publishers, media and others. Her poster, featuring bright blue skies, golden fields and a sunflower juxtaposed against an evil and hostile setting, depicts the reality of war. She joins “Power to the Poster” in support of a range of Ukrainian hospitals and animal shelters.

For ThoughtMatter, inclusion in Museum Mile is not just an opportunity to engage directly with New Yorkers in addressing this urgent cause, but the culmination of the studio’s longtime support of The Met as both members of the arts community and creative partners. “We’ve been working with The Met for the last 4 or 5 years, participating in their Met Teens programs, helping visitors create rock band buttons as part of their MetFridays “Play it Loud” exhibition, a “Reframe the Met” activity for MetFest and other efforts in activism and poster making,” says ThoughtMatter Managing Partner Jessie McGuire. “We've always believed in bringing an artful perspective to our work with brands and organizations. But to be able to work with The Met again to create a meaningful moment of artful activism for Ukraine is a really special opportunity. ”

Visit ThoughtMatter’s “Power to the Poster” project at Museum Mile on Tuesday June 14th from 6PM - 9PM, rain or shine. (Outside of the Metropolitan Museum of Art, next to the fountain at the Fifth Avenue and 81st Street entrance. If it rains the event will be in the Great Hall of The Metropolitan Museum of Art).