Multidisciplinary artists Shepard Fairey and Gregg Deal will come through the Emmanuel Art Gallery for a conversation about the intersection of their artistic practices, the important of protest and dissent in art, and how they have evolved as artists through their relationship with each other.

Shepard Fairey is a contemporary street artist, graphic designer, activist, and founder of OBEY Clothing and creative agency Studio Number One. In 1989, while at Rhode Island School of Design studying for his Bachelor of Fine Arts in Illustration,

Shepard Fairey created the “Andre the Giant has a Posse” sticker that later evolved into the OBEY GIANT art campaign. In 2008, his portrait of then-Democratic candidate Barack Obama became an internationally recognized emblem of hope. He is known for the “We The People” campaign debuted during the 2017 Women’s Marches worldwide. Fairey has painted more than 135 public murals, become one of the most sought-after and provocative artists globally, changing the way people converse about art and view the urban landscape.

Gregg Deal (Pyramid Lake Paiute Tribe) is a nationally and internationally recognized multi-disciplinary artist, activist, and “disruptor.” His work is informed by his Native identity and includes exhaustive critiques of American colonialism, society, politics, popular culture and history. Through paintings, murals, performance work, filmmaking, spoken word, and more, Deal invites the viewer to confront these issues both in the present and the past tense.   

Deal has lectured in multiple institutions, with two TEDx talks, often challenging stereotypes, pushing for accurate representation, and honest looks at history of the United States as it relates to this country’s First Peoples. It is in these “disruptions” of stereotypes and ahistorical

representations which Deal uses the term to describe his work. Deal has exhibited his work at notable institutions both locally, nationally, and internationally including the Denver Art Museum, RedLine Gallery, and The Smithsonian Institution. Deal currently lives with his wife and five children along the Front Range of Colorado.