Josh MacPhee, Chris Stain, Santiago Armengod (Mazatl), Meredith

Josh MacPhee, Chris Stain, Santiago Armengod (Mazatl), Meredith Stern, Eric Drooker, Ganzeer, Swoon
Celebrate People's History Box Set , 2015
Origin: Brooklyn, NY
Medium: offset print, letterpress
Binding: loose pages, custom box
Dimensions: 11.5 in W x 17.5 in H x 1.0 in D
Pages: 100
Edition Size: 25
Description: The Celebrate People’s History posters are rooted
in this do-it-yourself tradition of mass-produced and distributed
political propaganda, but detourned to embody principles of
democracy, inclusion, and group participation in the writing and
interpretation of history. It’s rare today that a political poster is
celebratory, and when it is, it almost always focuses on a small
canon of male individuals: MLK, Ghandi, Che, or Mandela.
Rather than create another exclusive set of heroes, I’ve
generated a diverse set of posters that bring to life successful
moments in the history of social justice struggles. To that end,
I’ve asked artists and designers to find events, groups, and
people who have moved forward the collective struggle of
humanity to create a more equitable and just world. The posters
tell stories from the subjective position of the artists, and are
often the stories of underdogs, those written out of history. The
goal of this project is not to tell a definitive history, but to
suggest a new relationship to the past.
Artists: Alec Dunn, Bec Young, Chris Stain, Colin Matthes, Dylan Miner, Erik Ruin, Fernando Martí, Friends of Justseeds, Jesus Barraza, Josh
MacPhee, Justseeds Collaboration, Mazatl, Melanie Cervantes, Meredith Stern, Molly Fair,Nicolas Lampert, Pete Railand, Roger Peet, Sanya
Hyland, & Shaun Slifer, Erok A., Aprille, Brandon Bauer, Dan Berger, Blanco, Tom Civil, Peter Cole, Bobby Cortez, Eain Dhruva, Lindsay Draws,
Erik Drooker, Alexander Dwinell, Adam Fanucci, Darrell Gane-McCalla, Ganzeer, Garage Collective, John Gerkin, Robin Hewlett, Rachael House,
Sabrina Jones, Keinom, David Lester, Kate Luscher, Sara Beth Meister, Claude Moller, James David Morgan, Un Mundo Feliz, Marc Nelson, Beth
Pulcinella, Ally Reeves, B. Riley, Cristy Road, Ben Rubin, Joshua Kahn Russell, Nicole Schulman, Tim Simons, SpeakEasy Press, Miriam Klein
Stahl, Swoon, Boff Whalley
The Celebrate People’s History Poster Series has been organized and curated by Josh MacPhee since 1998.
Each box set includes all 100 offset posters and a signed and numbered letterpress colophon sheet, presented in a custom stamped cloth box.
CPH posters have been pasted up in the streets of over a dozen cities. Each time I receive emails from people wanting to know more. Our streets
can be a venue for asking these questions, and the CPH posters can play a role in answering them. Soon after the first poster was printed,
educators began asking for posters for their classrooms. It’s been great to see the posters become part of curriculum, and to see lessons built
around them. Once when giving a talk about CPH, I was approached by a student in training to become a teacher. She was first introduced to the
posters when they hung in one of her grade school classrooms, almost a decade earlier. Now she intends to use them in her future classes. I hope
that these posters can continue to act as some small corrective to the dominant narratives told in schools, and that more teachers engage students
in alternative ways of understanding the past.
Today CPH posters grace the walls of dorm rooms, apartments, community centers, classrooms, and city streets. Over 100 different designs have
been printed in the past 18 years, adding up to over 300,000 total posters. Although I’ve organized and funded these posters myself, they have
always been a collective project. 80 artists have designed posters, multiple shops have done the printing, dozens have run around at night pasting
them on the street, and 1000s have helped distribute them around the world.
Full print list:
1. Malcom X, Josh MacPhee, May 1998
2. May Day, Eric Drooker, April 1999
3. John Brown, Josh MacPhee, May 1999
4. Dr. Marie Equi, Alec “Icky” Dunn, July 2000
5. Little Binghorn, Roger Peet, July 2000
6. Harriet Tubman and the Combahee River Action, Darrell Gane-McCalla, March 2001
7. Sylvia Ray Rivera and Stonewall, John Gerkin, June 2001
8. Jane-Underground Abortion Service, Meredith Stern, November 2001
9. Paul Robeson, David Lester, November 2001
10. Emma Goldman, Ben Rubin, February 2002
11. Augusto César Sandino, Erik Ruin, February 2002
12. Battle of Homestead, Erok Boerer, November 2002
13. Fred Hampton, Claude Moller, February 2003
14. Wangari Maathai, Ally Reeves, June 2003
15. Elisée Reclus, Shaun Slifer, June 2003
16. Phoolan Devi, Miriam Klein Stahl and Boff Whalley, July 2003
17. Gabriel Dumont and the Métis Resistance, Dylan A.T. Miner, January 2004
18. Haymarket, Adam Fanucci, February 2004
19. Judi Bari, Nicolas Lampert, March 2004
20. Las Mujeres Libres, Cristy C. Road, June 2004
21. Mothers of East Los Angeles, Jen Cartwright, July 2004
22. Suicide Club, Jeff Stark, November 2004
23. The Brotherhood of Sleeping Car Porters (and Maids), Meredith Stern, December 2004
24. Muhammad Ali Refuses to Fight, Colin Matthes, December 2004
25. Milwaukee 14, Brandon Bauer, March 2005
26. The Great Arizona Mine Strike, Beth Pulcinella, April 2005
27. Cochamba Water Struggle, Swoon, April 2005
28. Louise Olivereau, Aprille Thurheimer, April 2005
29. Highlander Folk School, Lindsay Starbuck, October 2005
30. The Silent Majority, Roger Peet, November 2005
31. Nueva Canción, Iain Dhruva, November 2005
32. Las Gorras Blancas, Pete Railand, November 2005
33. The White Rose, Keinom, February 2006
34. The Occupation of Alcatraz, Josh MacPhee, February 2006
35. ADAPT, Jen Cartwright, September 2006
36. The Occupation of Ford Hall, Joshua Kahn Russell, September 2006
37. Korean Peasant’s League, Nicole Schulman, November 2006
38. Dolores Huerta, Bobby Cortez and Blake Riley, December 2006
39. Miss Molly Jackson, Pete Railand, February 2007
40. Battle of Blair Mountain, Chris Stain, March 2007
41. Secession of the Plebs, Art Hazelwood, March 2007
42. IWW Local 8, Peter Cole (text) and Marc Nelson (art), May 2007
43. 8.8.88, Keinom, May 2007
44. Act Up Philadelphia, Courtney Dailey (art) and Act Up Philadelphia (text), July 2007
45. Buga-Up, Tom Civil (design) and Iain McIntyre (text/concept), August 2007
46. Durruti Column, Josh MacPhee, September 2007
47. EZLN, Kate Luscher, July 2008
48. Kalamazoo Corset Strike, Shaun Slifer and Sara Meister, August 2008
49. Grace and Jimmy Boggs, Bec Young, August 2008
50. Up Against the Wall, Motherfucker, James David Morgan, September, 2008
51. Sequoyah and the Cherokee Writing System, SpeakEasy Press, December 2008
52. Red Feds, Garage Collective, January 2009
53. Narmada Bachao Andolan, Robin Hewlett, February 2009
54. Oaxaca Woman’s Resistance, Tim Simons and Barucha Calamity Peller, March 2009
55. Youth-Led Resistance to Immigration Raids and Deportations, Jesus Barraza, March 2009
56. Matzpen, Joshua Kahn Russell and Dan Berger, August 2009
57. Atenco Aguanta, Melanie Cervantes, September 2009
58. Dil Pickle Club, Marc Moscato, Fred Sasaki, and Dean Rank, September 2009
59. Madres de Plaza de Mayo, John Isaacson, September 2009
60. Flint Sit-Down Strike, Dylan A.T. Miner, December 2009
61. The Haitian Revolution, Aaron Renier, May 2010
62. Assata Shakur is Free, Molly Fair and Laura Whitehorn, May 2010
63. DRUM, Bec Young, June 2010
64. Los Siete de la Raza, Fernando Martí, October 2010
65. Sacco and Vanzetti, Josh MacPhee, October 2010
66. El Hijo del Auizote, Santiago Armengod, October 2010
67. Co-Madres, Nicole Schulman (art) and Mara Komoska (text), October 2010
68. National Prisoners Reform Association, Alexander Dwinell and Sanya Hyland, October 2010
69. Crass, Brandon Bauer, December 2010
70. The Diggers, Erik Ruin, December 2010
71. Jana Sanskriti, Morgan F.P. Andrews, January 2011
72. Sacred Ground, Aaron Samsel (art) and Defenders for Freedom, Justice and Equality (text), May 2011
73. Jamaican Maroons Fend Off the British, Damon Locks, January 2012
74. Jane Jacobs, Sabrina Jones, January 2012
75. Vieques Libre, Dave Buchen, January 2012
76. Wisconsin Workers’ Uprising 2011, Sue Simensky Bietila, February 2012
77. Major Taylor, Janet Attard, February 2012
78. Prison Justice Day, Rocky Tobey, March 2012
79. Seki Ran Kai, Redeye (illustration) and Keisuke Narita (design), April 2012
80. The International Hotel, Claude Moller (design), Jerry Jew and Chris Fujimoto (photographs), April 2012
81. Animal Liberation Front, Karen Fiorito, April 2012
82. New Jewish Agenda, Abigail Miller (text) and Ezra Nepon (art), May 2012
83. Walter Rodney, Josh MacPhee, July 2012
84. The Underground Railroad, Sam Kerson, July 2012
85. For a Society Without Prisons, Josh MacPhee, July 2012
86. Audre Lorde, Katrina Silander Clark, May 2013
87. Grace Paley, Meredith Stern, May 2013
88. Squamish 5, Matt Gauck, June 2013
89. Luddites, Shaun Slifer, June 2014
90. Grandmothers of Austin, The Stockyard Institute, June 2014
91. Matilde Landa, Un Mundo Feliz, July 2014
92. El Maquis, Un Mundo Feliz, July 2014
93. ILWU and the Anti-Apartheid Struggle, Blanco (art) and Peter Cole (text), November 2014
94. The Lesbian Herstory Archives, Carrie Moyer (design) and Morgan
95. Amazon Army, Dave Loewenstein, November 2014
96. The Pueblo Revolt, Dylan A.T. Miner, March 2015
97. Primo Tapia de la Cruz, Christopher Cardinale, March 2015
Gwenwald (photograph), November 2014
98. Seattle: Direct Action Shuts Down the WTO, Nicolas Lampert, April 2015
99. Chico Mendes, Colin Matthes, April 2015
100. The People of Egypt: We’re Still Here, Ganzeer, June 2015
Institutional Collectors:
Exhibitions:
San Diego State University (SDSU)
Los Angeles Art Book Fair 2016 (LAABF 2016)
Stanford University
Wesleyan University, Olin Library
The Pennsylvania State University (Penn State)
University of Delaware Library
Wesleyan University
University of Connecticut, University Libraries (UCONN)
University of California at Irvine (UCI)
University of Pennsylvania (UPENN)
Lafayette College
University of Washington Libraries
University of California at Santa Cruz (UCSC)
University of Michigan, Special Collections
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