Gauntlet Gallery
What is Shepard Fairey’s piece called “Immigration Reform Girl (English Offset Edition)”?
Artist Statement
Collaboration between Shepard Fairey and Ernesto Yerena The purpose of these images and prints are to gain awareness and action to help change and improve immigration policy and perceptions. All the proceeds from these prints will go towards creating materials for the May Day marches on MAY 1st and donations for immigration reform organizations. 24 x 32" Offset Poster. Signed by Ernesto Yerena and Shepard Fairey. Not numbered, open edition.
Summary
Immigration Reform Girl (English Offset Edition) is a 2009 offset lithograph published by Obey Giant, a collaboration between Shepard Fairey and Ernesto Yerena. Measuring 24 x 32 inches and priced at $35, this English offset version is signed by both artists, not numbered, and issued as an open edition. The image was created to build awareness and action around immigration policy, with proceeds directed toward materials for the May Day marches on May 1st and donations to immigration reform organizations. The print exists in English and Spanish offset and standard versions, presenting a figure tied to immigrant rights advocacy.
Why It Matters
Immigration Reform Girl is one of the clearest examples of Fairey deploying his art as direct political tooling, made in collaboration with Ernesto Yerena, a key artistic partner on immigrant-rights and Latino-justice projects. Unlike collectible signed-and-numbered editions, this offset lithograph was conceived as an open-edition campaign object: affordable at $35, dual-signed but unnumbered, and explicitly tied to funding May Day march materials and immigration reform organizations. That purpose-built activism gives the work documentary weight beyond its visual appeal. For collectors, it represents the engaged, movement-oriented side of Fairey's practice, where the print is less a luxury object than a participatory artifact of a specific cause. The availability of English and Spanish versions, in both offset and standard forms, underscores its intent to reach and represent the communities it advocates for. The Fairey-Yerena collaboration is itself notable, marking a sustained creative partnership rooted in social-justice imagery. As a result, the print appeals strongly to collectors of political and protest art, those interested in artist collaborations, and anyone documenting how contemporary street artists channeled their reach into immigration advocacy. Its open-edition, proceeds-driven model distinguishes it sharply from Fairey's gallery-tier output.
Collector Perspective
This print speaks to collectors focused on political and protest art, immigrant-rights themes, and Fairey's collaborative projects with Ernesto Yerena. Its larger 24 x 32 inch format gives it strong wall presence, suiting collectors who want a statement piece with explicit social messaging. As an open-edition offset signed by both artists but unnumbered, it is positioned as accessible and cause-driven rather than scarcity-focused, appealing to buyers who value meaning over edition size. It fits naturally alongside other Fairey peace, justice, and collaboration prints. Collectors documenting the Fairey-Yerena partnership or the broader immigration-reform art movement will find it a central, purpose-built example.
Historical Context
Created in 2009, Immigration Reform Girl reflects Fairey's deepening collaboration with Ernesto Yerena and his engagement with immigrant-rights advocacy in the years following the 2008 election. The print was explicitly tied to the May Day marches on May 1st, with proceeds funding march materials and immigration reform organizations, placing it within a tradition of art produced as movement infrastructure. Issued as an open-edition offset lithograph in English and Spanish versions, it prioritized reach and affordability over the scarcity model of Fairey's signed-and-numbered screen prints. The Fairey-Yerena partnership documented here would continue across later immigrant-justice and political projects, making this an early anchor in that shared body of work.
FAQ
Who created Immigration Reform Girl?
It is a collaboration between Shepard Fairey and Ernesto Yerena, signed by both artists per the source. The Fairey-Yerena partnership produced multiple immigrant-rights and social-justice works, and this print is among their explicitly activist collaborations from 2009.
Is the print numbered or a limited edition?
No. According to the source, it is not numbered and is an open edition. It is signed by both Fairey and Yerena. The open-edition format reflects its purpose as an affordable, cause-driven campaign object rather than a scarcity-focused collectible.
What was the purpose of the print?
The source states the images and prints were made to gain awareness and action to improve immigration policy and perceptions. All proceeds went toward creating materials for the May Day marches on May 1st and donations for immigration reform organizations.
What are the size, medium, and versions?
It is a 24 x 32 inch offset lithograph priced at $35. The source notes it exists in English Offset, English, Spanish Offset, and Spanish versions, giving the work bilingual reach aligned with the communities it advocates for.
Related Works
About the Artist
Shepard Fairey (b. 1970, Charleston, South Carolina) is an American street artist, graphic designer, and activist, and a graduate of the Rhode Island School of Design. His 1989 “André the Giant Has a Posse” sticker grew into the global OBEY GIANT campaign — an ongoing experiment in propaganda, obedience, and visual culture. He reached worldwide recognition with the 2008 “Hope” portrait of Barack Obama, now held by the Smithsonian National Portrait Gallery. Across screen prints, stencils, murals, and collage, Fairey channels propaganda aesthetics toward themes of peace, justice, environmentalism, and civil rights. His work is in the collections of the Museum of Modern Art, the Victoria & Albert Museum, and LACMA.