The Syracuse Poster Project will unveil its 21st annual poster series,6 p.m. on Thursday, April 21 at City Hall Commons, Downtown Syracuse.
The Syracuse Poster Project brings together community poets and artists to create an annual series of poetry posters for the city’s poster panels. Each year, writers throughout the community submit short poems about downtown, the city, and the nearby countryside. Artists then create posters based on the poems of their choice.
The Project selects the top posters and displays them along Salina and Warren streets beginning in April. This year, the Project explored new ground by giving poets and artists a prompt, “10 Syracuse Spirits.” These include the spirits of snow days, ancestral guidance, historic architecture, and more. The Project also extended its reach by welcoming short poems other than traditional haiku. The new theme and broadening of poetry resulted in a diverse and high-quality poster series.
Since its founding in 2001, the Poster Project has worked to enliven downtown and strengthen the city’s sense of community. The Project highlights Syracuse’s culture and creativity and reaches beyond the city by selling poster prints, notecards, and poetry booklets.
The open call drew submissions from more than 100 poets and 32 artists. A five-person panel and the Project’s advisory board then selected 10 posters for production: first, second, and third-place posters and 7 runners-up.
The panelists were Alice Maggiore, communications director for the Downtown Committee of Syracuse; Anthony Pham, marketing assistant for the Downtown Committee; Elizabeth Judge, marketing manager for Visit Syracuse; Chris Capella, art teacher at the Onondaga Nations School; and Gabriele Eure, architectural designer at C&S Companies.
The first-place poster is by poet Cynthia Perrine of Fabius and artist Thomas Harris of Syracuse; second-place poster by poet Amy Zamkoff of Syracuse and artist Leah Hennessey of Baldwinsville; third-place poster by poet David Pasinski of Syracuse and artist Tyler Hill of Nedrow.
The celebration at City Hall Commons will include a gallery-style viewing of all 10 large posters, refreshments, and commentary from the artists and poets.
Syracuse Poster Project Unveiling of 2021 Poster Series
Soon after the unveiling, the Downtown Committee of Syracuse will install the posters along Salina and Warren Streets. The posters remain on display for a year.
The Poster Project reaches the larger community by selling poster products, including poster prints, notecards, and poetry booklets. Prints can be purchased at Wildflowers Armory, 217 S. Salina St. and at the Project’s online store: www.posterproject.org. All proceeds help the project become self-sustaining.
