Posters for rallies and political campaigns typically end up in a corner of the basement or garage, bent, maybe stained, never to be used again.
But not these banners. Made from cloth, they can be rolled up, stored, and carried to the next rally. The Center for Civic Engagement and University Galleries are partnering to host a free Banner-Making Workshop from 3:30–5 p.m., October 26. The event is open to Illinois State University students and will be held at University Galleries, 11 Uptown Circle, Suite 103, Normal. Space is limited to 30. Register here.
The workshop was inspired by Chicago-based artist Aram Han Sifuentes’s work and is presented in conjunction with the University’s 2022 election engagement efforts. Participants will learn about the artist’s projects “Protest Banner Lending Library” and “The Official Unofficial Voting Station” from Kendra Paitz, director and chief curator for University Galleries. Sifuente, a South Korean immigrant who uses textiles to confront social justice issues, was featured in a solo exhibition at University Galleries in 2019.
Tanya Scott, University Galleries’ curator of education, will co-lead the workshop with graduate students Jalyn Jones and Holly Filsinger. Materials and instruction will be provided. Banners can be taken home or donated to the University Galleries’ banner lending library, which was created after Sifuente led a workshop on banner making during her visit. She donated some of her banners to the lending library.
Banners can be checked out like books, with cards recording the history of where they have been. There are about 25 in the collection. For more information on the banner lending library, call (309) 438-5487 or email Gallery@IllinoisState.edu.
