Syracuse Poster Project
The Syracuse Poster Project brings together community poets and Syracuse University
illustration students to create an annual series of posters for the
city’s poster panels. Each year since its founding (in 2001), the 16
posters feature an illustrated poem about the downtown, city, or
surrounding countryside. The project enlivens the downtown, strengthens
the city’s sense of place, and reaches the larger community by selling
small prints of the large posters.
This year’s Poster Project was unveiled on April 12 at the Atrium at City Hall Commons. The unveiling gathered the poets and artists, friends of public art, and representatives from the two sponsoring companies: Dal Pos Architects and C&S Engineers. The 16 poet-artist combinations included:
* Paul Allen of Camillus and Elizabeth Philips
* Claire Bobrycki of Syracuse and Lucas Slominski
* Claire Bobrycki of Syracuse and Mike Tanoory
* Claire Bobrycki of Syracuse and Wei Hsing
* Sherry Chayat of Syracuse and Emily Lopuch
* Sherry Chayat of Syracuse and M. Teresa Madariaga
* Jay Cox of Pompey and Caitlin Berry
* Arthur Flowers of Syracuse and Lydia Nichols
* Mary Gardner of Skaneateles and Chris Casciano
* Robert Gaurnier of Syracuse and Bret Supranowicz
* Ellen McNeal of Baldwinsville and Rich Kelly
* Michele Reed of Oswego and Christine Mitchell
* Michele Reed of Oswego and Jessica Colton
* Jennifer Sanford of Syracuse and Joseph M. Murphy
* Marilyn Shelton of Baldwinsville and Jim Louden
* Mark Shevalier of Henderson and Andrew Lyons
The 2007 series depicts a variety of downtown landmarks (Hanover, Armory and Clinton squares); harbingers of the seasons (migrating geese, jumping trout, falling leaves); and cultural touchstones (theater, blues, ethnic neighborhoods).
This unveiling culminated nearly a year of collaborative work. Over the summer, the project invited poets to write the three-line form of poetry known as haiku. It also reached out to people who have already written haiku for the Syracuse New Times’ annual Syr-Haikus Contest.
Roger DeMuth, a professor at SU’s College of Visual and Performing Arts, makes the project a fall assignment for advanced illustration students. Each of some 30 students creates an illustrated poster, using a haiku of the student’s choice. By the September deadline, the project typically has 75 poems by more than 30 contributors.
The Downtown Committee of Syracuse and representatives of the project then select the best 16 of these works for display in the downtown poster panels.
Beyond the poster panels, the project reaches the larger community by selling 11 x 17-inch prints of the posters, and by exhibiting a complete set of the prints at a different downtown venue each month. Prints can be purchased at Eureka Crafts in Armory Square and at the Copy Centers, at South Salina and Washington streets. All proceeds help the project become self-sustaining.
Professor Roger DeMuth can be reached at 655-8599. For general information, additional information about the poets and artists, or images of the posters, get in touch with the project coordinator, Jim Emmons, at 424-8099, or jamesemmons@lycos.com
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The Downtown Neighborhoods
Armory Square • Downtown East • Hanover Square
