Gauntlet Gallery
What is Shepard Fairey’s piece called “CAC Annual Benefit Poster”?
Artist Statement
CAC ANNUAL BENEFIT EVENT X SHEPARD FAIREY The Contemporary Arts Center’s annual benefit bash is happening this SATURDAY, MAY 22nd… Its a pulsating, urban street party celebrating Shepard Fairey’s return to Cincinnati. We have been in Cincinnati for the past couple of days and have been hard at work spreading the art of OBEY AND we will end the week in a bang with Shepard DJing a giant party to raise funds for the CAC and their on going efforts to support progressive minds and creativity. Come out and show your support! Saturday, May 22, 2010 This print was not available for purchase on the Obey Giant website. It was only available to those who attended the Supply and Demand retrospective at the Cincinnati Contemporary Arts Center.
Summary
CAC Annual Benefit Poster is an 18 x 24 inch screen print published by Obey Giant in 2010, numbered in an edition of 450, created for the Contemporary Arts Center's annual benefit in Cincinnati on Saturday, May 22, 2010. The event marked Fairey's return to Cincinnati and the Supply and Demand retrospective at the CAC, with Fairey DJing a fundraising party. According to the source, the print was not sold on the Obey Giant website and was available only to those who attended the retrospective at the Cincinnati Contemporary Arts Center.
Why It Matters
This poster is a venue-specific, event-tied release that documents Fairey's relationship with institutions exhibiting his Supply and Demand retrospective. Unlike his standard online drops, the source states this print was never available for purchase on the Obey Giant website and was distributed only to attendees of the Cincinnati Contemporary Arts Center event, making it an exhibition artifact rather than a general-market release. That restricted distribution is meaningful to collectors who prioritize provenance and event context, since acquisition was tied to physical presence at the May 22, 2010 benefit. The poster celebrates Fairey's civic and institutional engagement, created to raise funds for the CAC's support of progressive creativity, and pairs his OBEY iconography with a real-world fundraising purpose. Within his catalog it represents the museum-and-benefit strand of his output, where prints function as fundraising tools and commemorations rather than commercial editions. With a stated edition of 450, it is consistent in size with many Obey Giant releases of the period, but its limited, in-person-only availability distinguishes it. For collectors, the appeal lies in its event provenance, its connection to the Supply and Demand retrospective, and its OBEY branding tied to a documented date and place.
Collector Perspective
This poster appeals to collectors who value event and exhibition provenance, Cincinnati and CAC-connected buyers, and those tracking Fairey's Supply and Demand retrospective tour. Because the source says it was only available to attendees of the Cincinnati event and not sold online, it carries a distribution story that institutional and provenance-minded collectors prize. The OBEY iconography makes it instantly recognizable, and its fundraising origin adds a civic dimension. It fits collections organized around museum benefits, exhibition ephemera, and Fairey's institutional collaborations, complementing other OBEY-branded and collaboration-driven releases from the same period.
Historical Context
The CAC Annual Benefit Poster ties to the Cincinnati Contemporary Arts Center's hosting of Fairey's Supply and Demand retrospective, the major touring survey of his career. Created for the CAC's May 22, 2010 annual benefit, at which Fairey DJed a fundraising party, the poster reflects how his work circulated through museum partnerships and benefit events rather than solely commercial drops during this period. The source's note that it was distributed only to event attendees, and never sold on the Obey Giant site, places it among Fairey's institution-specific releases, where OBEY iconography supports fundraising for the venue's programming.
FAQ
Was this print sold on the Obey Giant website?
No. The source states the print was not available for purchase on the Obey Giant website and was only available to those who attended the Supply and Demand retrospective at the Cincinnati Contemporary Arts Center.
What event was this poster made for?
It was created for the Contemporary Arts Center's annual benefit on Saturday, May 22, 2010 in Cincinnati, an event celebrating Fairey's return to the city, where he DJed a party to raise funds for the CAC.
What are the size and edition?
The poster is an 18 x 24 inch screen print published by Obey Giant in 2010, in a numbered edition of 450. No retail price is listed in the source for this print.
What was the benefit raising money for?
According to the release, the party raised funds for the CAC and its ongoing efforts to support progressive minds and creativity.
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.