Selection of Poet-Artist Pairs for the 2023 Poster Series.
Our panelists met in early December to select posters for the 2023 series. Join us in congratulating the selected poet-artist pairs, listed here by poet and artist:

Mark Calicchia of Mount Morris & Chloe Flores, of Syracuse
Shari Hemsley, of Newfield & Lydia Nichols, of Syracuse
Octavia Miller, of Syracuse & Barry Lee, of Clay
Brian Mitchell, of Baldwinsville & Mary Vertigan, of Liverpool
Craig Overbeck, of Fayetteville & Katie Mulligan, of Minoa
Dave Pasinski, of Fayetteville & Lucie Wellner, of Pompey
Rick Portine, of Fayetteville & Kathleen O'Dell, of Syracuse
Rick Portine, of Fayetteville & Susan Murphy, of Liverpool
Mark Shevalier, of Henderson & Chris Barrett, of Syracuse
Maura Harling Stefl, of DeWitt & Christian Freeman, of Syr.

Results of Call for Poetry and Art:
This year's call for poets and artists, soliciting work for our 22nd poster series, drew many fine submissions. This was the second year that we allowed short poems outside of the tradition of haiku and the second year of prompting poets with a series of "Syracuse Spirits." The response was enthusiastic. We had 81 returning poets and 15 new poets for a total of 96 participating poets. They submitted a total of 274 poems. From these we selected 120 semi-final poems. We then allocated four poems to each of the 27 participating artists. Each artist selected one poem to illustrate.

Additionally, poets submitted a total of 41 poems to complement the special State Fair poster illustrated by Lydia Nichols. From these, our board and representatives of the State Fair selected four semi-final poems. Lydia herself selected the winning poem by Shari Hemsley.

Art Selection Process:
Selection took place in early December. Of the 27 artists who signed up, 22 completed posters. From these, our guest panelists presided over a blind selection of nine posters and awarded first-, second-, and third-place posters. The special State Fair Poster brought the total to 10.

First place: Lucie Wellner and Dave Pasinski.
Second place: Kathleen O'Dell and Rick Portine.
Third place: Katie Mulligan and Craig Overbeck.

The panelists were:
Cheryl Chappell: Owner of Edgewood Gallery.
Anthony Pham: Marketing assistant for the Downtown Committee.
Elizabeth Judge: Marketing manager for Visit Syracuse.
Chris Capella: Art teacher at LaFayette High School.
Gabrielle Eure: Architectural designer at C&S Companies.

Annual Unveiling:
We will release the posters at an unveiling celebration, tentatively set for April 20.

Memorial Poster for Thea St. Omer
We were saddened by the death of one of our participating poets, Thea St. Omer, from a heart attack in April, 2015. Thea was a filmmaker and an inspired member of the arts community. In 2015, we teamed with Starbucks to install a memorial to Thea at the Armory Square cafe. With the closing of Starbucks, in 2022, we're seeking another venue for re-installation of Thea's memorial.

Interns: Where Are They Now?
Xi Chen, our spring, 2017, intern, graduated and landed a job with the Chicago Transit Authority. She helped us re-establish our interactive map of places that have been featured in posters. Yi Ting Huang, our fall semester, 2016, intern, graduated and moved to California. She helped create our website's poster and photo gallery pages and did great work mapping and analyzing poets' parcitipantion. Kalia Zell-Barrow, our summer, 2017, intern, graduated and is now pursuing a patent on an adaptive cushion for the elderly. She helped us reach out to independent artists to sell their civic art through our online store. Fan Wang, our fall, 2015, intern from the Janklow Arts Leadership Program, moved to New York City to pursue arts internships there. Rushi Sun, a fall, 2015, semester intern from Syracuse University's iSchool, found a job in California. Yingxue Xiao, another iSchool intern, landed a job with Bank of New York Mellon in Syracuse. Zhaolu Meng, a year-long intern from the iSchool, moved to Dallas to take a job with an analytics company.

South Side Art Initiative
In the summer of 2013, we selected posters from our archives, and offered them for long-term display to businesses and public venues along the South Salina Street business corridor, from Colvin Street to Brighton Avenue. Marissa Saunders, a board member, and Michael Moody, a Syracuse artist, oversaw a pair of youth workers: Tania Peterson, who helped with outreach, and Rachel McMillian, who helped with poster installation. We got a positive response from more than 10 venues. Read more in this story by Ruthnie Angrand of The Stand The initiative is funded grants from the Gifford Foundation and the New York State Urban Council.

New Products
We recently added two new shopping sections: one for posters by local artists working in a vein similar to ours; another for literary posters from the Rosamond Gifford Lecture Series, autographed by the featured authors. We're also offering a CNY Media Guide, an excellent resource for any individual or organization interested in publicizing programs, activities and accomplishments.

Traveling Exhibit
Our traveling flat screen with a rotating display of posters spends December at Parthanon Bookstore.

New Stores
We're now selling our products at two new venues: cards and select poster prints at Syracuse Soapworks in the Hawley Green neighborhood; and prints, note cards and postcards at Wildflowers Armory, downtown. Know a store that would like to carry our products? Let us know.

Audience Development
We worked with dozens of arts and culture groups participating in the Initiative to Develop and Engage Audiences in Syracuse (IDEAS). The initiative strengthens arts, culture and heritage groups by building audiences, sharing resources, and developing cooperative activities. Five entities teamed up to make the work happen: the Allyn Foundation, Central New York Community Foundation, Gifford Foundation, Dorothy and Marshall M. Reisman Foundation and the Trust for Cultural Resources of the County of Onondaga. Participants worked with Surale Phillips, of Bozeman, MT, a demographer specializing arts and culture. Phillips helped us analyze our membership and customer base, correlate it with census information, and find ways to reach new supporters. A grant from IDEA helped us reach new stores; tidy up our mailing lists; and enhance our website.

Incorporation
In April, 2010, the Syracuse Poster Project received New York State incorporation. The Project then completed a lengthy application for federal nonprofit status, and finally received approval in November, 2010. The Project now has nonprofit status under section 501 (c) 3 of the tax code. This exempts us from federal income tax and sales tax, and lets us receive tax deductible bequests and contributions. We owe much of this accomplishment to Jessie Sweetland, class of 2010, Syracuse University College of Law. Through participation in the S.U. Law Clinic, Jessie and a classmate, Akria Ulmer, ushered us into the application process. Jessie and Akira graduated in 2010. A new team of student volunteers, Bobby Rajabi and Jacob Berger, saw us through the final steps of the process.