The Unity Project – Harnessing the power of illustration art for social good.
Much as Norman Rockwell’s work was influential in bringing the country together at pivotal times, NRM’s Unity Project campaigns are a collaboration with artists and organizations to advance initiatives that make the world a better place.
The first initiative, launched in the fall of 2020, sought to motivate all who are eligible to exercise the important civic responsibility of voting.
Art that Inspires Us to Vote
The Unity Project calls upon all Americans to uphold democracy by voting.
This dynamic digital poster campaign aims to inspire citizens to vote. Striking images by the nation’s top illustrators work to establish unity and belonging among all Americans, who share in common the right to elect a government of the people.
Norman Rockwell Museum steps into the public square in a new way with a unification project in support of democracy—a rally to vote campaign highlighting original concepts by six leading contemporary illustrators commissioned by the Museum to create motivational art in the great illustrated poster tradition.
Compelling works by Mai Ly Degnan, Rudy Gutierrez, Anita Kunz, Tim O’Brien, Whitney Sherman, and Yuko Shimizu reflect each artist’s personal voice and a diverse range of artistic approaches.
The Campaign reminds us that the Constitution gives power to the people, and will reinforce our citizen agency, the common bond in our democracy which gives the power to the people to elect their government, government of, by, and for the people.
The Unity Project carves out a new space for the Museum’s work in the world, to uphold social justice through illustration art. We hope it inspires citizens across the nation to vote.
The Kindness Campaign
The “Kindness Campaign” aims to help us remember that empathy and patience will make a difference – in our community and our world, especially at a time when shops, restaurants, attractions, service providers, and businesses are short-staffed and struggling through this pandemic.
Together with 1Berkshire, we commissioned three artists to illustrate images of kindness to be shared on social media with the hashtag #BeKindBerkshires and #BeKind. We invite you to share them and add your thoughts about how kindness helps everyone. Find a “Kindness toolkit” of graphics, posters, and ideas on the 1Berkshire website.
Norman Rockwell: Imagining Freedom
American illustrators have a long tradition of observing and responding to the world around them. Strong images can shape perception and help us envision and work toward aspirational ideals.
Artworks created to bring out the vote in 2020 were a part of Norman Rockwell: Imagining Freedom, an exhibition that travelled as part of a six city tour, which took Rockwell’s art and the work of other creators to New York, Detroit, Washington DC, Normandy, France, Houston, Denver, and ending back in Stockbridge – the home of Norman Rockwell Museum. Norman Rockwell: Imagining Freedom explores the indelible odyssey of the Four Freedoms, humanity’s greatest and most elusive ideals.
The power of images to shape cultural narratives is revealed in this dynamic and evolving exhibition, which invites viewers to trace the origins and legacy of the Four Freedoms from the trials of the Great Depression and World War II to the Civil Rights movement of the 1960s, and the call for freedom today across racial, gender, ethnic, and religious lines. Norman Rockwell: Imagining Freedom inspires conversation about our most pressing social concerns through the lens of art and history, and invites us to consider how we can become allies in the creation of a more humane world.
Rockwell’s most iconic works, including the legendary Four Freedoms paintings inspired by Franklin D. Roosevelt’s vision for a peaceful post-war world; the artist’s personal plea for unity in The Golden Rule; his call for human rights in The Problem We All Live With and Murder in Mississippi; and his petition for truth and transparency in The Right to Know reflect the artist’s desire to make a difference. More than forty Rockwell artworks are joined by paintings, drawings, photography, and writings of artists working across the decades for the cause of freedom, including Dorothea Lange, Gordon Parks, Arthur Rothstein, Mead Schaeffer, Arthur Szyk, Martha Sawyers, Langston Hughes, Thomas Lea, Boris Artzybasheff, and Denys Wortman, among others. Reimagining the Four Freedoms, a multi-media exhibition component, presents thought-provoking perspectives by forty contemporary artists who explore society’s hopes and aspirations for a free and just world. Highlighted among them is a suite of striking recreations by Maurice Pops Peterson, who presents a vision of Rockwell’s art for a new age.
IMAGE CREDITS
Nicole Tadgell
Choose Kindness, 2021. Watercolor on paper.
Collection of the artist.
©2021 Nicole Tadgell. All rights reserved.
Leo Quiles
Practice Kindness, 2021. Gouache on paper.
Collection of the artist.
©2021 Leo Quiles. All rights reserved.
Marc Rosenthal
Kindness Heals, 2021. Digital.
Collection of the artist.
©2021 Marc Rosenthal. All rights reserved.
Mai Ly Degnan
Defend Democracy, 2020
Digital
Mai Ly Degnan © 2020. All rights reserved.
Rudy Gutierrez
Humanity, Not Politics, 2020
Acrylic, colored pencil, crayon on Bristol paper mounted on board
Rudy Gutierrez © 2020. All rights reserved.
Anita Kunz
Every Vote Counts, 2020
Acrylic on board Anita Kunz
© 2020. All rights reserved.
Tim O’Brien
Vote, 2020
Oil on board
Tim O’Brien © 2020. All rights reserved.
Whitney Sherman
Vote: Defend Democracy, 2020
Digital
Whitney Sherman © 2020. All rights reserved.
Yuko Shimizu
Defend Democracy (Lady Liberty), 2020
Digital
Design by Atelier Olschinsky Grafik und Design OG
Yuko Shimizu © 2020. All rights reserved.
Norman Rockwell (1894-1978)
Freedom of Speech, 1943.
Illustration for The Saturday Evening Post, February 20, 1943.
From the collection of Norman Rockwell Museum.
© 1943 SEPS: Licensed by Curtis Licensing, Indianapolis, IN. All rights reserved.
Norman Rockwell. (1894-1978)
Rosie the Riveter, 1943
Cover illustration for The Saturday Evening Post, 1943
©1943 SEPS: Licensed by Curtis Licensing, Indianapolis, IN
Norman Rockwell (1894-1978)
Freedom of Worship, 1943.
Illustration for The Saturday Evening Post, February 27, 1943.
From the collection of Norman Rockwell Museum.
© 1943 SEPS: Licensed by Curtis Licensing, Indianapolis, IN. All rights reserved.
Norman Rockwell (1894-1978)
Golden Rule, 1961.
Story illustration for The Saturday Evening Post, April 1, 1961.
Norman Rockwell Museum Collections.
©SEPS: Curtis Licensing, Indianapolis, IN.
Norman Rockwell (1894-1978)
Freedom From Want, 1943.
Illustration for The Saturday Evening Post, March, 6, 1943.
From the collection of Norman Rockwell Museum.
© 1943 SEPS: Licensed by Curtis Licensing, Indianapolis, IN. All rights reserved.
Norman Rockwell (1894-1978)
The Problem We All Live With, 1963.
Story illustration for Look, January 14, 1964
From the permanent collection of Norman Rockwell Museum
Licensed by Norman Rockwell Licensing Company, Niles, IL
Norman Rockwell (1894-1978)
Freedom From Fear, 1943.
Illustration for The Saturday Evening Post, March, 13, 1943.
From the collection of Norman Rockwell Museum.
© 1943 SEPS: Licensed by Curtis Licensing, Indianapolis, IN. All rights reserved.