BrandCulture Joins Local Business and Global Humanitarian Organizations to Support Ukraine
This Spring, the world watched in horror as the invasion in Ukraine became the largest refugee crisis in Europe since WWII. A war like this is not something we were expecting to see in 2022, nevertheless we believe it is our duty as human beings to support those in need at this time. While we can’t be on the frontlines, it’s important to do what we can to support this humanitarian effort by raising awareness through art.
This past weekend, BrandCulture partnered with Generator and Poster Territory to host the ‘Stand with Ukraine’ Poster Exhibition. Led by Curator, UCLA Design Media Arts Lecturer, BrandCulture Design Director and Poster Territory Founder Olga Severina, the exhibition showcased 60 posters selected from over 1,000 submissions from across the world. A unique intersection of philanthropy and art, the event allowed people to show their solidarity, raise awareness and donate funds to support Ukraine.
“At BrandCulture, we believe in the power of design and imagery to stir emotions, rally like-minded individuals and ultimately inspire collective action that changes the world for the better. Our goal for this event was to advocate for human rights, freedom and peace for Ukraine,” added Jon Hutson, Co-founder and Managing Director of BrandCulture.
The exhibit hit a more personal chord for organizer Olga Severina. “My hometown Kharkiv is now under attack and I do what I can to speak out against this war.” says Severina. “Posters as an art form belong to the streets. I wanted to give these posters a voice because I’ve always believed that great art can be the agent of real change. Events like these help posters to be seen and have an impact. The poster call is still open and now has more than a thousand submissions. For this show, we selected 60 posters, but as artwork keeps coming we will have more exhibitions where we’ll showcase works made by other artists as well,” added Severina.
The opening reception was hosted at Aftercar. The perfect backdrop for this event, Ryan Gravel’s new retro-future-solar punk-social-house is on the Atlanta Beltline. “Atlanta’s position as the civil rights capital of the world made it a natural location for such an initiative,” said Ryan Gravel, Founder of Generator, a nonprofit focused on ideas about the future of cities. “Generator created Aftercar to be a place and platform that embodies the values of community and solidarity that we hoped to spread through this initiative,” he added.
The event brought in a lively crowd of supporters and donations for Ukrainian relief. The second day included a kids’ poster design workshop where children were able to come show their support through various creative means such as doll and bracelet crafting, poster design and face painting! Providing this opportunity for children emphasized to them the importance of creative expression as a means of supporting others.
Other supporting organizations for the event included CARE, The Mayor’s Offices of International and Cultural Affairs, The Ukrainian Association of Graphic Designers, The Professional Association for Design, AIGA Atlanta, MODA and the Ukrainian Congress Committee of Georgia.
It doesn’t take much to make a difference. If you’re an artist who is interested in submitting artwork to Poster Territory for consideration in an upcoming exhibit, please click here.
#standwithukraine.
