Back to Top

Celebrate People’s History Poster Series

Organized and Curated by Josh MacPhee

The Celebrate People’s History posters are rooted in the 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.

In the first decade of the project, CPH posters were pasted up in the streets of over a dozen cities. Each time I received emails from people wanting to know more. Our streets can be a venue for asking these questions, and the CPH posters played an active role in that (and might again!). 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 165 different designs have been printed in the past twenty-five years, adding up to over 400,000 total posters. Although I’ve organized and funded these posters myself, they have always been a collective project. Over 150 artists, designers, and writers have created posters, multiple shops have done the printing, dozens of people have run around at night pasting them on the street, and hundreds have helped distribute them around the world.

The Celebrate People’s History Poster Series has been organized and curated by Josh MacPhee since 1998.

Associated Artists

Other Artists
ACT UP Philadelphia, Morgan F.P. Andrews, Janet Attard, Ed Baldry, Brandon Bauer, Dan Berger, Sue Simensky Bietila, Blanco, Eric “Erok” Boerer, Frank Brannon (SpeakEasy Press), Eli Brown, Emily Brymer, Dave Buchen, Christopher Cardinale, Jen Cartwright, Dustin Chang, Stefan Christoff, Tom Civil, Peter Cole, Bobby Cortez, Courtney Dailey, Defenders for Freedom, Justice & Equality, Eain Dhruva, Lindsay Draws, Erik Drooker, Alexander Dwinell, Adam Fanucci, Karen Fiorito, Darrell Gane-McCalla, Ganzeer, Garage Collective, Cheyenne Garrison, Matt Gauck, Emi Gennis, Shannon Gerard, John Gerkin, Lana Grove, Art Hazelwood, Ethan Heitner, Robin Hewlett, Rachael House, Sanya Hyland, John Isaacson, Jamaa Al-Yad, John Jennings, Sabrina Jones, arthur katrina, Keinom/Nicholas Ganz, Amos Paul Kennedy, Sam Kerson, David Lester, Kevin Yuen-Kit Lo, Damon Locks, Dave Loewenstein, Kate Luscher, Iain McIntyre, Dylan Miner, Sara Beth Meister, Abigail Miller, Claude Moller, Ricardo Levins Morales, James David Morgan, Marc Moscato, Carrie Moyer, Un Mundo Feliz, Keisuke Narita, Marc Nelson, Ezra Nepon, Barucha Peller, Roger Peet, Zeke Peña, Beth Pulcinella, Dean Rank, Red Eye, Ally Reeves, Aaron Renier, Blake Riley, Cristy Road, Ben Rubin, Joshua Kahn Russell, Aaron Samsel, Nicole Schulman, Scout, Tim Simons, Lindsay Starbuck, Jeff Stark, Meredith Stern, The Stockyard Institute, Swoon, Rocky Tobey, Aprille Thurheimer, Josiah Werning, Laura Whitehorn, Bec Young, Zola

Subjects
AnarchismCulture & MediaEcology & AnimalsEnvironment & ClimateHistoryLaborMigrationPolice & PrisonsRacial JusticeSocial Movements
CPH in NZ pt2

CPH in NZ pt2

May 19, 2012

Jared Davidson, of Garage Collective and organizer of the recent exhibition of Celebrate People’s History posters in New Zealand, sent me these great photos of the posters on display in…

Celebrate People’s History Posters in Montreal

Celebrate People’s History Posters in Montreal

WHERE

St. Emilie Skillshare Gallery
3942 rue Ste. Emilie
Montreal

Celebrate People’s History Posters in Montreal Opening Friday June 8, 6-10pm Special poster exhibit and poster sale Open from june 8 to june 30, every Saturdays from 1 to 6…

We Are The Storm Portfolio launch

We Are The Storm Portfolio launch

WHERE

Impact HUB's Terrace Gallery
2323 Broadway
Oakland, CA

At Last! The We Are The Storm Portfolio is launching this Friday in Oakland. If you are in the Bay Area, you should check it out: 22 new powerful works…

27th Annual Energy Fair in Custer, WI

27th Annual Energy Fair in Custer, WI

WHERE

27th Annual Energy Fair Each year, The Energy Fair brings over 15,000 attendees together to learn about clean energy and sustainability, connect with others, and take action towards a more sustainable…

UP AGAINST THE WALL

UP AGAINST THE WALL

WHERE

Booklyn | 37 Greenpoint Avenue, Suite E4G / Box 23, Brooklyn, NY 11222

For almost fifteen years people have been marching in the streets, singing, chanting, insisting, “From Iraq to Palestine, Occupation is a Crime!” Booklyn is pleased to announce Up Against the Wall,…

Celebrate People’s History

Celebrate People’s History

WHERE

Stamps Gallery
201 S. Division Street
Ann Arbor MI 48104

The Celebrate People’s History (CPH) posters are rooted in the do-it-yourself tradition of mass-produced and distributed political propaganda. They are detourned to embody principles of democracy, inclusion, and group participation…

International Permanent People’s Tribunal on Fracking

International Permanent People’s Tribunal on Fracking

WHERE

Artworks a CEI project
408 SW Monroe Ave, Ste 110 Corvallis, Oregon 97333

Justseeds has work up in a political art poster group show addressing human rights, fracking and climate change – in support of the International Permanent People’s Tribunal on Fracking happening…

Celebrate People’s History

Celebrate People’s History

WHERE

Richard F. Brush Art Gallery
St. Lawrence University
Canton, NY 13617

The Celebrate People’s History posters are rooted in the do-it-yourself tradition of mass-produced and distributed political propaganda, but have been re-imagined to embody principles of democracy, inclusion, and group participation…

Celebrate People’s History Book Launch

Celebrate People’s History Book Launch

WHERE

Online at crowdcast.io via Charis Books

To celebrate the release of the new edition of Celebrate People’s History: The Poster Book of Resistance and Revolution (The Feminist Press, 2020), author/editor Josh MacPhee will be in conversation…

Celebrate People’s History

Celebrate People’s History

WHERE

Grand Valley State University
Performing Arts Center Gallery
1 Campus Dr.
Allendale, MI 49401

Rooted in the do-it-yourself tradition of mass-produced and distributed political propaganda, the Celebrate People’s History (CPH) poster series seeks to generate a diverse collection that brings to life successful moments…

Celebrate People’s History

Celebrate People’s History

WHERE

Pilsen Community Books/Women & Children First (Virtual)

Join us for a virtual panel discussion in honor of Celebrate People’s History!: The Poster Book of Resistance and Revolution. For this event, we’ll be joined by contributors Nicole Marroquin,…

Celebrate People’s History Prints at PO Box Collective

Celebrate People’s History Prints at PO Box Collective

WHERE

PO Box Collective
6900 N. Glenwood Ave.
Chicago, IL 60640

The Celebrate People’s History series pays tribute to people, events, and movements that have contributed to collective resistance. View a selection of over seventy prints from this incredible series displayed…

Celebrate People’s History

Celebrate People’s History

WHERE

Atrium Gallery
Lewiston-Auburn Campus of the University of Southern Maine
51 Westminster St, Lewiston, ME 04240

Join the Scontras Center for Labor and Community Education as we Celebrate People’s History for an exhibit and events series during January and February of 2024 to be held at…

Celebrate People’s History at In These Times

Celebrate People’s History at In These Times

WHERE

Art In These Times
2040 N. Milwaukee Ave. Chicago IL, 60647

In conjunction with the Labor Notes conference in Chicago, Art In These Times is hosting a new exhibition of Celebrate People’s History posters. The exhibition opens Sunday, April 21st alongside…

Toil and Moil/Celebrate People’s History

Toil and Moil/Celebrate People’s History

WHERE

The Tea House
Bateman Quay [near the Market Yard bus stop]
Kilkenny
Ireland

Toil and Moil is a solo exhibition by artist Emma Swan, alongside a showcase of the Celebrate People’s History poster series, a project initiated by Josh MacPhee. Toil and Moil…