The Connective Corridor is pleased to promote the release of the 2012 Syracuse Poster Project series – a much anticipated series of images paired with poetry that appears in downtown kiosks along the Civic Strip of the Corridor.  The 16 images — which were just unveiled – are available for purchase on-line, or at local stores.  The Syracuse Poster Project is headquartered in The Warehouse, and was co-founded by Jim Emmons. Roger DeMuth, a VPA assistant professor of art, design, and transmedia in the department of art.

The project brings together community poets and Syracuse University artists to create an annual series of poetry posters — each featuring an illustrated poem about the downtown, the city, or the nearby countryside. The project enlivens the city, builds community, and creates a sense of place.  The community is invited to participate by submitting poetry, or through donations and purchases of the posters or related products that include Syracuse posters, note cards, postcards, haiku booklets, and books on poster art and haiku.  The project operates as a public service, with no government or institutional funding, and all proceeds from donations and sales directly fund the production of work.

“You’ll find, conveyed through Syracuse art and haiku poetry, an assortment of places and experiences that stir the hearts of locals,” according to the project’s website. “Well known landmarks, as you’d expect, but also plenty of subtle, backyard epiphanies. If you’re looking for Syracuse souvenirs, we’ll send you home with a haiku poster unique to this region.”  The project invites haikus from visitors to Syracuse.  “We love the fresh vision of travelers.”

Professor DeMuth makes the project a fall assignment for advanced illustration students. Each of some 30 students creates an illustrated poster, using a haiku of the student’s choice. By the annual September deadline, the project typically has 75 poems by more than 30 contributors. From this pool of work, 16 are selected and are displayed for a year in downtown poster panels along Warren and Salina Streets.  Images of the posters, as well as biographies of the poets and artists can be viewed at the Syracuse Poster Project website.

Jim Emmons can be reached at (315)424-8099 or jim@posterproject.org.  Roger DeMuth can be reached at (315)415-8599 or rdemuth@syr.edu.

This summer, the Syracuse Poster Project will once again invite poets to submit entries.  That call for haiku will serve the 2013 series.  To submit, visit the website and go to “Entry Materials” for entry forms and more information. The annual deadline for submissions is the second Friday in September, with poets notified of their selection in December.

“As the seasons unfold, apply yourself to experiencing the pleasures, beauties and peculiarities of our city. How do these moments move you? How do you convey the depth of these experiences in the few words of haiku? Delve into this, and send us your best work.”

When not teaching, Roger works as an independent designer and illustrator from his home studio in Cazenovia. The work includes: children’s books, puzzles, maps, packaging, garden design, historic preservation, and panoramic photography. View it at www.demuthdesign.com