Call for art to support Critical Mass
Critical Mass is a leaderless ride, free and open to all, where bicyclists take to the streets to promote bicycling as the most efficient, healthy and environmentally sound form of urban transit. Though Critical Mass retains a strong environmental message, it has also become a space for individuals to express a wide variety of social, political and cultural messages. Critical Mass is a demonstration, celebration and direct action all at once.
New York City had its first Critical Mass in 1993. Since then, New York City bicyclists have met up on the last Friday of every month to ride free through the city’s normally car clogged streets.
Since the summer of 2004, when the Republican National Convention came to Manhattan, NYC Critical Mass has never been the same. The NYPD, specifically Bruce Smolka’s South Manhattan Patrol Borough, have violated constitutional rights and New York City court orders in an effort to end Critical Mass in New York. Bicyclists have been violently arrested, bikes have been stolen and the festive spirit of the ride has been threatened.
VisualResistance.org is working to facilitate a visual campaign in support of Critical Mass. But, we need your participation. We urge all artists, graphic designers and generally creative minds to send us their poster, sticker and stencil designs. We will be printing large runs of stickers and posters. We will also make sticker, poster, or stencil designs available for download on this site.
Some possible themes would be: supporting/promoting Critical Mass; defending the right to free assembly; and promoting bicycling as a form of transportation.
For background info on Critical Mass and the city’s harrassment, check the Time’s Up press room and legal newswire, or look around on NYC Indymedia.
Specs
— Poster designs should be 8.5×11” or 11×17, sticker and stencil designs can be any logical size.
— E-mail designs to visual.resistance [at] gmail.com in JPG, PDF, or Photoshop formats, 300 dpi or greater. If you prefer to send hard copies, drop us a line and we’ll give you a mailing address. Any other questions, suggestions, tips, or ideas, just drop us a line.
Notes
— Submissions do not have to be specific to any one city: generic posters grow wings!
— Please use a generic time — Last Friday of Every Month — instead of a specific date.
