endorsed eventFIRST CHICAGO INTERNATIONAL POSTER BIENNIAL
Chicago, Illinois – United States
While Chicago is well known for its architecture, theatre, fine art, public landscaping, and music scenes, there is a significant lack of applied visual arts in public spaces. By focusing on making this exhibition an outdoor one, we hope to accomplish two important objectives. First, we want posters to be realized as the quintessential public art form, because they engage citizens at street level, requiring an emotional and intellectual response. They also stimulate dialogue and articulation of important issues—social, political, and economic. Secondly, we want to help the City of Chicago craft its international reputation as a proponent of international cooperation and communication—and as a strong civic advocate of design.
Thank you to all the poster designers who submitted their work to the first Chicago Biennial. We, as well as the jurors, were extremely impressed with the quality and diversity of the entries—and also with the volume of posters we received for this inaugural event. We received over 1,600 posters from designers in 43 countries. By July 1, we will announce the 127 finalists that the jury selected for exhibition, so stay tuned.
All the best,
Lance Rutter and Yann Legendre
Artistic Co-Directors