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On Wednesday, World Art Day, the Wisconsin Historical Society announced that it has commissioned 10 artists to create new posters that riff off historic public information posters created during the two World Wars.
The COVID-19 Poster Project will unveil a new poster each week over the next two months, beginning with Madison-based letterpress artist Keegan Onefoot-Wenkman's bold and bright image reminding us to shelter in place.
The first poster is officially released on Friday and the artist says it will be made available to the public, with details to be announced soon.
The posters are meant to promote public health and safety during the coronavirus outbreak and, according to WHS, "serve as a call to action to encourage social change, well-being, and community spirit."
The posters will be added to the Society's collection of more than 5,000 such documents.
"Public information posters have long been a part of history," notes the WHS. "From rural electrification efforts encouraging participation to boosting volunteerism on the home front during WWI and WWII, these posters were usually bright and bold, and inspired the public to take action in some way."
You can see some of the historic posters in the WHS collection, as well as keep up with the new poster releases, here.
Born in Brooklyn, N.Y., where he lived until he was 17, Bobby received his BA-Mass Communications from UWM in 1989 and has lived in Walker's Point, Bay View, Enderis Park, South Milwaukee and on the East Side.
He has published three non-fiction books in Italy – including one about an event in Milwaukee history, which was published in the U.S. in autumn 2010. Four more books, all about Milwaukee, have been published by The History Press.
With his most recent band, The Yell Leaders, Bobby released four LPs and had a songs featured in episodes of TV's "Party of Five" and "Dawson's Creek," and films in Japan, South America and the U.S. The Yell Leaders were named the best unsigned band in their region by VH-1 as part of its Rock Across America 1998 Tour. Most recently, the band contributed tracks to a UK vinyl/CD tribute to the Redskins and collaborated on a track with Italian novelist Enrico Remmert.
He's produced three installments of the "OMCD" series of local music compilations for OnMilwaukee.com and in 2007 produced a CD of Italian music and poetry.
In 2005, he was awarded the City of Asti's (Italy) Journalism Prize for his work focusing on that area. He has also won awards from the Milwaukee Press Club.
He can be heard weekly on 88Nine Radio Milwaukee talking about his "Urban Spelunking" series of stories.
