#CombatCovid

April 17–September 30, 2020
A digital billboard wrapping a corner in Times Square against a cityscape. Yellow and white text on black background. Text reads Apart Apart Be a part of the solution. Stay apart. #combatcovid Emily Oberman and Lorenzo Fanton.

Posters have always been an important means of mass communication, especially in times of crisis. In response to the COVID-19 pandemic, Poster House has teamed up with PRINT Magazine, Times Square Arts, and For Freedoms to launch a citywide public art campaign featuring PSAs and messages of love, gratitude, and solidarity with New York City’s frontline workers. The PSAs can be found throughout New York City on nearly 1,800 digital screens and billboards thanks to partnerships with LinkNYC, Silvercast, Pearl Media, JCDecaux, and Times Square Arts.

When Poster House closed its doors to the public on March 10, we looked for ways to continue our mission to educate and serve the public. Inspired by Steven Heller’s article in PRINT Magazine about posters commissioned during the polio epidemic, Poster House and PRINT asked more than 24 designers to contribute pieces that addressed clear public safety advice, support for our community in New York City, and profound thanks to everyone—doctors, MTA workers, grocery store workers, shippers, food banks, and more—who continue to make the city run through the shutdown.

But to make these PSAs function, they have to be seen. We contacted Out Of Home advertisers who were also feeling the effects of lost income and were willing to donate their screens to us. Silvercast donated an enormous two-sided digital billboard at the Lincoln Tunnel, which we decided to use specifically for messages of gratitude to essential workers coming to resupply and support the city. LinkNYC then offered us their 1,700+ screens in all five boroughs, which meant that New Yorkers could see these PSAs on their necessary outings. JCDecaux brought the first opportunity to take the project to cities outside of New York, with more than 300 screens on bus shelters and newsstands in New York, Boston, and Chicago.

We learned that Times Square Arts was putting together a similar effort, asking artists to contribute PSAs and messages to display on a series of digital billboards in the iconic media center of Manhattan on several gigantic and dynamic screens. Times Square is currently devoid of tourists, but necessary workers still travel through the area. In addition, the media uses Times Square as the world’s window onto New York, and featuring the PSAs in the press functions as another method of distribution. As the project grows to include more designers and venues, we are thrilled to be a part of this effort to give something to New York through the power of posters.

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This PSA project is the result of the dedication and work of the artists who generously donated their talent; the hard work of our peers at Print Magazine, Time Square Arts, and For Freedoms; the digital posters debuted at OOH screens around New York City due to the generous donation of Time Square Alliance, LinkNYC, Silvercast, Pearl Media, and JCDecaux.



Press


Selected Images

A type based poster with stacked words reading,
Stay Strong New York, 2020
Ola Baldych
An illustrative poster of a man and woman standing six feet apart.
6ft., 2020
Seymour Chwast
A type-based poster with red text,
Call a Loved One, 2020
Pablo Delcan
A poster repeating
6 Feet is, 2020
Matt Dorfman
An animation featuring an illustrative poster by Milton Glaser of the empire state building.
Empire, 2020
Milton Glaser
A motion featuring an illustrative poster depicting four different scenes happening within four windows.
Stay Home, 2020
Jessica Hische
A motion combating covid featuring posters illustrating that 6 feet means the total length of a bicycle.
6 Feet Means, 2020
Joe Hollier
A type based PSA poster featuring a coronavirus particle with the
Don't Stop to Read This, 2020
Mirko Ilić
An illustrative poster of two people facing coronavirus with the words, love in the time of corona.
Love in the Time of Corona, 2020
Maira Kalman
An illustrative poster of a woman looking out of window with a red curtain.
Hero, 2020
Masashi Kawamura & Whatever Inc
A type based poster featuring the phrase,
I ❤ NY, 2020
Jennifer Kinon & Bobby Martin
An illustrative poster of a rollercoaster riding down a steep hill on a sunny blue day.
What Goes Up Must Come Down, 2020
John Kudos
An illustrative PSA poster featuring an armored hand holding up an orange tree.
Essential, 2020
Ross MacDonald
An illustrative poster of washing hands under running water.
Wash Hands, 2020
Richard McGuire
A type based poster of the words,
Together Apart, 2020
Debbie Milliman
Motion for a poster promoting covid distancing featuring the word
APART, 2020
Emily Oberman & Lorenzo Fanton
A decorative type poster thanking essential workers.
Thank you Essential Workers!, 2020
Gemma O'Brien
A red PSA poster of a figure sitting at a table with an empty plate and a hole in their stomach.
Stop Hunger, 2020
David Plunkert
An illustrative poster of a nurse with wings rising behind the NYC skyline.
New York Loves You, 2020
Edel Rodriguez
A photomontage poster of a shopping cart, shopping bag, and astronaut floating in space.
Thank You Grocery Workers, 2020
Paul Sahre
A motion featuring a PSA poster with the words,
You Me, 2020
Paula Scher
A poster combating covid features a pair of red chopsticks holding a message in the form of a fortune.
Clean Hands, 2020
Strick & Williams
A motion featuring an illustrational poster of two people playing tennis from their respective high rise windows.
Save Lives. Live Safe, 2020
Klaas Verplancke
A motion featuring the poster of
American, 2020
Zipeng Zhu