The powerfully colorful graphic mural is spray-paint splashed on the side of New Beginnings Day Care located at 1787 East 55th Street, Cleveland, Ohio. Seven individuals in profile face the same direction with “vote” in a voice box as if spreading the message to their neighbor to vote. This mural project was funded by ICU Art, a media and production company specializing in hand-painted murals based in Oakland and Los Angeles, CA. This mural is sponsored by Amazon Studios to promote the documentary All In: The Fight for Democracy. ICU Art has teams of professional artists who create murals like this across the USA. This particular mural was designed by artist Andrea Pippins and rendered by Cleveland-based artist Osman Muhammad. Amazon Prime commissioned ICU Art to paint similar murals in Houston, Atlanta, New Orleans, Minneapolis, Miami, Baltimore, and Phoenix.
All in: The Fight for Democracy features Stacey Abrams, who takes on the long-standing issue of voter suppression in the U.S. This timely documentary is the backdrop for one of the USA’s biggest fights as Americans heads to the polls on November 3rd. The film, directed by Liz Garbus and Lisa Cortes, debuted on Prime Video on September 18.
We are trying to get the word out to check out this documentary, which shows the history in this country of attempts to limit the vote to a small number of privileged people. Yet, we claim to be so proud of our democracy. That makes no sense. Voter suppression is clearly still an issue to this day all over the United States. Stash Maleski, Founder of ICU Art.
HAF: Osman, how did you get the commission to do this project?
Osman: I have been working with ICU Art since 2006. When they need me, they use me. I moved back to Cleveland in 2015, and each year I try to get at least two murals from ICU Art.
HAF: ICU is a national mural company founded by Stash Maleski and his wife, Jeanna Penn, based out of Oakland and Los Angeles, but consigns mural projects all over the USA. This mural has the political theme of voting; what was ICU Art’s intention of having this mural in the African American community?
Osman: In the documentary “All in,” you see how specifically black people were railroaded with voter restrictions to suppress black people from voting.
HAF: How was this specific location selected for this project?
Osman: It was a crapshoot. I tried to get any wall approved that was in a high walking-traffic area. The owner of this building already had public art on it and was happy to share her building with other artists.
To learn more about All in: The Fight for Democracy
