Like many grassroots cultural groups, the Syracuse Poster Project has had its fair share of financial ups and downs. And yet the project has survived and thrived creatively, now celebrating its 25th anniversary.
As part of the celebration, SPP will release its 2026 poster series at an event held between six and eight p.m. on Friday, April 24 at the Art in the Atrium Gallery, 201 E. Washington St.
The evening will feature a silent auction—accompanied by light refreshments—providing guests with the opportunity to buy any of the 12 posters issued for this year. Starting at seven p.m., several of the poets and artists involved with the series will also briefly present their work.
The posters represent the culmination of an annual selection process, in which SPP invites poets to send in short pieces (often haikus) and artists to submit illustrations. Later, each poster merges verse and art.
“It’s a combination,” notes Scott Herrmann, director for the Syracuse Poster Project. “The two forms come together and become a third thing.”
The theme for the 2026 series is the notion of a quarter—a nod to the project making it to a quarter-century—which sparked diverse interpretations.
For example, one poster features Jean Fahey’s poem: “Gibbous moon shining/on newly fallen snow/early winter night.” Giselle Richmond’s digital art accompanies Fahey’s words, depicting a winter scene with a small moon shining in the shape of a quarter.
A second poster has a retro sensibility with its portrayal of a scene from the past. A woman moves into a classic-style phone booth and inserts a quarter to make her call.
And a third poster references a seasonal event: the appearance of eagles near Onondaga Lake, combining Karen Antczak’s poem and Zoe Sauve’s vivid illustration.
The overall series reflects the labors of a creative team. Herrmann worked closely with Jim Emmons, a co-founder of the Syracuse Poster Project and its coordinator for many years. Now Emmons is stepping away from that role.
In addition, SPP, which has no paid staff, has benefitted from the work of college students who intern for a semester, and volunteers who help out a couple of hours a week.
In assessing the project’s 25-year history, one trademark is its ability to keep reinventing itself. In 2025, the posters focused on local stores who have impacted the community, including Pastabilities in Armory Square, Columbus Bakery, Syracuse Cooperative Market, and Discount Shoe Store. The store’s proprietor, Ralph Rotella, has received recognition for repairing thousands of shoes and gifting them to those who can’t afford to buy footwear.
Beyond that, there’s the substantial portfolio the project has built up over the years. The posters have referenced diverse subjects including blueswoman Libba Cotten, Alf Jacques (who made wood lacrosse sticks for over 40 years), Green Lakes State Park in winter, and Columbus Circle in summer.
In addition, they’ve covered the Mountain Goat Run, the Art Deco architecture of National Grid’s downtown headquarters, the Jerry Rescue statue in Clinton Square, and Gustave Stickley, who was a furniture designer and manufacturer, as well as an influential figure in the American Arts and Crafts Movement during the early 20th century.
The posters, which now number close to 400, recognize our community as a place of culture, enterprise and creativity. “It’s a love letter to Syracuse,” Herrmann says.
Another facet of the Syracuse Poster Project is its commitment to displaying posters around downtown. After the April 24 release party, posters will be given to the Downtown Committee for placement into kiosks on South Warren Street and other locations. Posters will also be exhibited by the U.S. Post Office on South Salina Street and in front of City Hall.
Also on SPP’s agenda is the distribution of Where Are They, a book published by SPP which offers updates on the careers of 22 artists who had illustrations appear in past posters. All of them were Syracuse University students who took part in a senior illustration class sometime between 2001 and 2017. As of 2018, the Syracuse Poster Project began putting out an annual open call for work from artists spanning Central New York.
Herrmann says that SPP is reviewing its fiscal situation. The project has long operated on a financial shoestring, with income from grants, corporate donations and sales of posters, notecards, postcards and other products. Now it’s looking for new sources of funding to sustain its work into the next quarter century.
For more information about the Syracuse Poster Project, call 315-937-7123 or visit posterproject.org.
About the Author
Carl Mellor covered visual arts for the Syracuse New Times from 1994 through 2019. He currently writes reviews and other articles for CNY Arts as a community partner.
