Pepsi dressed fashioned out of Pepsi billboard.
The out of home (OOH) advertising industry has a strong relationship with the art world. While designing OOH advertising is an art in itself, many communities spotlight local artists using available OOH.
Last week artists in Austin, TX, were honored by the annual Austin Art Boards project. Since 2011, 10 local artists have had works chosen by a panel of art critics to be displayed on billboards in the Austin market.
This year, 256 submissions were received. After narrowing down the results to 30 finalists, 10 winners were chosen to be featured along roadsides in December. All 30 works of art can be viewed in an online gallery. Learn more in The Austin Chronicle.
ArtPop is a program that promotes local artists in multiple US markets. OOH media companies partner with local arts groups to create the ArtPop program. Work is juried, voted on, and promoted in the market on available OOH space to a limited number of artists who are chosen for the program.
This year, the program has selected winners from areas of Florida, Nevada, North Carolina, Pennsylvania, and South Carolina. View galleries of this year’s winners here.
Stay up to date on all ArtPop activities by following the 501c3 on Twitter at @ArtPopStreetGal.
The OOH industry has recently overlapped with another form of art - fashion. Last month the Mint Museum in Charlotte, NC, hosted the “Outdoor Is In” fashion exhibit. This pop-up exhibit features 19 dresses constructed from recycled and re-imagined vinyl billboards (one from the Mint, as well as 15 other brands).
“Outdoor Is In” emerged in response to a dress designed by Columbia, SC, artist Flavia Lovatelli. Lovatelli’s work appeared on a billboard for ArtPop. When she turned the billboard into a ball gown, more fashion artists were asked to produce similar creations for a runway show at the Mint. Learn more about “Outdoor Is In” in the Charlotte Post.
The OBIE Awards, celebrating its 75 anniversary this year, has dedicated a page on its new website to honor the art in OOH. Here OOH and art fans can find the latest news about how the industry is supporting arts in local communities.
For more about the OBIE Awards, or to enter the awards program, visit www.obieawards.org.