Movie, art or band posters are generally generic, mass produced and available in a variety of stores – they don’t seem to be all that unique.
Bringing the sexy back into the poster world, the D.R.E.A.M. (Design Rules Everything Around Me) exhibition at the Make gallery is a dazzling celebration of design, hip-hop and poster art.
Organized by UBC fourth-year art history student Jonathan Bell-Etkin, the project is a vivid and fun experience inspired by the “visually rich culture of sound, colour and larger than life characteristics” of hip-hop. The show takes an unconventional spin on the poster art by turning hip-hop songs into a content-rich eye-popping spectacle of a poster.
A long awaited poster project for Make was originally scheduled to open early September as the part of Vancouver Design Week.
While working on the project, the Make team, according to Bell-Etkin, were determined to express their adoration for the genre but to still keep it open-minded. That is why the general idea for the project was to let the artists to pick their favourite hip-hop song and turn it into a poster.
"It was always supposed to be an awesome and fun community event,” said Bell-Etkin. Despite the Vancouver Design Week cancellation, the idea of a “Make Poster Show” stayed on the board which later turned into a design and hip-hop fusion project.
Passionate about both aspects of the show, former gallery and Social Media Coordinator at Make Bell-Etkin kept up with actually organizing the mechanics of the show from conception to realization despite having to leave the project to pursue his education.
"We’ve reached out to the local designers and illustrators and let them do what they do best,” said Bell-Etkin.
All of the posters showcased at the Make are also available for purchase at the gallery and online with all sales benefiting the Community Arts Council of Vancouver. CACV is a Downtown Eastside based organization giving opportunities to the disenfranchised artists and strengthening the creative community.
“Hip-hop has always been about giving a voice to the voiceless and that echoes the core tenet of design … what inspired our choice of charity,” Bell-Etkin said.
Since opening October 1, D.R.E.A.M will have its doors open until October 30th to share their passion for design and hip-hop with the community.