AMES, Iowa — The Iowa State University College of Design will host the inaugural United States International Poster Biennial exhibition Oct. 5–26 in Gallery 181, located on the first floor of the Design building on the west side of Iowa State’s campus.

The traveling juried exhibition features 260 posters in five topic categories – Social, Cultural, Animated, Inclusion and U.S. Poster — selected from 7,380 entries submitted by professional and student artists, graphic designers, photographers and visual communicators from 75 countries.

Exhibition viewing hours are 8 a.m.–5 p.m. Monday through Friday and by special appointment. The gallery is closed weekends and university holidays. Admission is free.

Opening reception and awards presentation

The USIPB 2023 show will open at Iowa State with a reception and awards presentation from 4–6 p.m. Wednesday, Oct. 4, in the gallery, with remarks beginning at 4:30 p.m. Speakers will include:

  • Introductions and Closing Remarks: Viviana Urvina, USIPB executive producer
  • Welcome: Luis Rico-Gutierrez, Iowa State College of Design dean, and Paul Bruski, Iowa State graphic design department chair
  • The History of the Poster: Ryan Slone, USIPB vice president and co-founder and University of Arkansas assistant professor of graphic design
  • The USIPB and the Contemporary Poster: Christopher Scott, USIPB president and co-founder and Iowa State assistant teaching professor of graphic design
  • The Future of the USIPB: Bernard Canniffe, USIPB executive producer and Iowa State associate professor of graphic design

Awards will be presented to national winners in three categories, including Miriam Martincic, Iowa State assistant teaching professor of graphic design, Category C: Animated (Professional); Nick Mendoza, Oklahoma State University assistant professor of graphic design at Oklahoma State University, Category B: Cultural (Professional); and Erin Sedra, Missouri State University graduate student in visual studies, Category A: Social (Student). The award levels (gold, silver, bronze) will be announced at the event.

Following its Iowa State run, the exhibition will travel to Downtown Long Beach District, Long Beach, California; Purdue University; Temple University; and University of Arkansas. Additional venues are being planned across the U.S. and internationally in Poland and China.

The exhibition was juried by Rikke Hansen, Angelina Lippert, Saki Mafundikwa, Woody Pirtle, Drueding + Scorsone, Felipe Taborda, Xiao Yong and Agnieszka Ziemiszewska. The USIPB logo and branding system were designed by Michael Braley, creative director of Braley Design in Lexington, Kentucky, who received a bachelor of fine arts in graphic design from Iowa State in 1993. Following the reception, Braley will present a lecture on “The Art of the Poster” at 6 p.m. in Kocimski Auditorium, room 101 Design.

Scott co-founded the USIPB with Slone in May 2022. He has received more than 300 international awards, including three Graphis Gold awards and an International Design Awards Silver award, and has been recognized by organizations including Adobe, Amnesty International, Designboom, Golden Bee Global Biennale of Graphic Design, International Poster Biennale in Warsaw, Poster for Tomorrow and World Wildlife Fund.

He is the former president and founder of the Ecuador Poster Bienal, co-founder of Poster Poster and founder of Designers Speak.

Contacts

Christopher Scott, Graphic Design, csscott@iastate.edu
Heather Sauer, College of Design Strategic Communications, hsauer@iastate.edu

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