Shepard Fairey and MoveOn Announce
New Pro-Obama Art Contest
Winner's Work To Be Shown At "Manifest Hope Art Gallery"
During Democratic National Convention


MoveOn.org, artist Shepard Fairey and Upper Playground announced today that they will join forces to host the "Manifest Hope Art Gallery" (manifesthope.com) at the Democratic National Convention. The gallery, open from Sunday, August 24 through Thursday, August 28 2008, will feature both known and new artists all supporting Barack Obama for President.

The groups also launched a related contest today, calling for entries of visual art from grassroots supporters of Senator Obama. Similar to MoveOn.org's "Obama in 30 seconds" contest, the submissions will be reviewed by a panel of judges including famed artists Ross Bleckner, April Gornik, Eric Fischl, Shepard Fairey, musicians Moby, Thurston Moore of Sonic Youth and DJ Spooky and Cydney Payton - Executive Director & Chief Curator Museum of Modern Art Denver, and Nancy Spector - Author & Guggenheim Curator of Contemporary Art. Five finalists will be selected to show in the MANIFEST HOPE Gallery alongside well-known artists such as Shepard Fairey, Sam Flores, Ron English, Chris Pastras, Mel Kadel and David Choe.

Shepard Fairey is one of the most prolific and infamous urban artists known world wide for his iconic image of Andre The Giant. He is also the designer of the highly visible HOPE posters, stickers and shirts that have been embraced by the grassroots movement that surrounds the Barack Obama campaign.

"I believe with great conviction that Barack Obama should be the next President of the United States. He was against the war when it was an unpopular position, is for energy and environmental conservation and supports real health care reform. He has awakened a massive grass roots movement and engaged the creative community in a way unseen before. Art provides the perfect platform to express our collective enthusiasm and commitment for change. The Manifest Hope Gallery will shine a light on artists using their works to engage their community and challenges other artists to do the same." says Shepard Fairey.

"Our members have used creativity really effectively to help in elections, and we're excited to partner with Shepard and his crew to bring more artistic voices to help elect Obama," said Eli Pariser, Executive Director of MoveOn.org. "The contest, the gallery, and the event will add energy to an already vibrant movement for progressive change in our country."

The Manifest Hope Gallery will be housed in 10,000 sq. ft. of gallery space in downtown Denver. It will show some of the most widely recognized art pieces seen in the 2008 presidential campaign and a wide variety of new works by famed artists.

The top 30 submissions to the Manifest Hope Gallery contest will present their works in an on-line gallery hosted by MoveOn.org and Obey Giant. The works will be presented to the public for bidding as an eBay auction with all funds donated to the MoveOn PAC.


Manifest Hope Gallery
2990-2936 Larimer St
Denver, CO 80205
www.manifesthope.com


About Moveon.org
MoveOn.org Political Action is a political action committee powered by 3.2 million progressive Americans. We believe in the power of small donors and grassroots action to elect progressive leaders to office and to advance a progressive agenda. We do not accept any donations over $5,000, and the average donation to MoveOn.org Political Action is under $100.

About Obey
OBEY/GIANT is the ongoing creation of artist Shepard Fairey. Started in 1989 while he was still at RISD, the OBEY/GIANT work has consisted of Iconic imagery of Andre The Giant and his Obey Icon in countless variations, stenciled and wheat-pasted on walls around the world. In addition to continuing the OBEY project, Shepard founded Studio Number One, a creative studio, bringing together a team of highly skilled designers who work on commercial art and advertising. Shepard's political irony transformed into reality this year when his "HOPE" poster became an icon of the Obama campaign and the values it represents. For more information visit www.obeygiant.com.

About Upper Playground
Based in San Francisco, California, Upper Playground was founded in 1999 and has become a leader in today's progressive art movement with its innovative apparel line and art gallery, FIFTY24SF. Recognized as a catalyst for the fusion of fashion with art, Upper Playground produces apparel lines bi-annually and features designs from notable local and international artists. The apparel line is sold nationally and internationally in over 300 boutiques and online. Upper Playground's FIFTY24SF Gallery showcases art from some of the best contemporary artists in the world with its monthly art exhibits. Please visit www.upperplayground.com for more information.