Gauntlet Gallery
What is Shepard Fairey’s piece called “Punk Rock Bowling (2025)”?
Artist Statement
This is the second time I created Punk Rock Bowling's poster, this time celebrating their 25th anniversary. I love the DIY, punk ethos and the bands involved. Punk and hardcore changed my life by showing me that through resourceful independence people can build their own scene and be creative on their own terms. PRB has been keeping it punk, fun, independent, and grimy for 25 years! If you didn't pick up a poster at the fest over the weekend, you can get one online, details below. -Shepard PRINT DETAILS: Punk Rock Bowling (2025). 18 x 24 inches. Screen print on 80# cream Speckletone paper. Signed by Shepard Fairey. Numbered edition of 550. Comes with a Digital Certificate of Authenticity provided by Verisart. $60.
Summary
Punk Rock Bowling (2025) is a 2025 Obey Giant screen print, 18 x 24 inches on 80# cream Speckletone paper, in a numbered edition of 550. It is the second poster Fairey created for the Punk Rock Bowling festival, this time celebrating the event's 25th anniversary. Fairey praises the festival's DIY, punk ethos and the bands involved, crediting punk and hardcore with showing him that resourceful independence lets people build their own creative scene. The print is signed by Shepard Fairey and comes with a digital Certificate of Authenticity from Verisart. It priced at $60 on release.
Why It Matters
Punk Rock Bowling (2025) reflects Fairey's deep, personal connection to punk and hardcore culture and his recurring role as an artist for the scenes he loves. In his text he calls the festival's 25th anniversary a celebration of an event that has "been keeping it punk, fun, independent, and grimy for 25 years," and he credits punk and hardcore with teaching him that "through resourceful independence people can build their own scene." That DIY ethos is foundational to Fairey's own career, which began with self-made stickers and street art, so a poster for a long-running punk festival doubles as a statement of his artistic values. This is his second poster for the event, making it part of an ongoing relationship rather than a one-off commission. For collectors, the print combines music-poster appeal with Fairey's graphic style and ties to a specific cultural institution and anniversary, making it attractive to punk fans, festival attendees, and collectors of his music and event posters alike.
Collector Perspective
This print appeals to punk and hardcore fans, Punk Rock Bowling attendees, and collectors of Fairey's music and event posters. As the festival's 25th-anniversary poster and his second design for the event, it carries a built-in cultural hook for those connected to the scene. At 18 x 24 inches with a numbered edition of 550, it frames easily and sits within a defined edition. The DIY, independent ethos Fairey praises resonates with collectors who value the punk roots of his work. The artist signature and Verisart certificate support documented authenticity, and it pairs well with his other punk and festival prints in a focused music grouping.
Historical Context
Released in 2025 through Obey Giant, Punk Rock Bowling (2025) continues Fairey's long engagement with punk and hardcore culture and his practice of designing posters for the scenes that shaped him. As his second poster for the festival, created for its 25th anniversary, it reflects an ongoing relationship with a punk institution. Fairey ties the work to the DIY ethos that informed his own beginnings in self-made stickers and street art, underscoring how the values of punk independence run through his career. The print sits among his contemporary music and event posters, demonstrating his sustained role as a visual chronicler of punk's enduring community.
FAQ
What is this print for?
It is the poster Fairey created for the Punk Rock Bowling festival, celebrating the event's 25th anniversary. It is the second time he designed a poster for the festival, which he praises for its DIY, punk ethos and the bands involved.
What are the edition details?
Punk Rock Bowling (2025) is a First Edition screen print measuring 18 x 24 inches on 80# cream Speckletone paper, in a numbered edition of 550. It is signed by Shepard Fairey and includes a Digital Certificate of Authenticity from Verisart. It was released in 2025 at $60.
Why does Fairey connect to this festival?
Fairey says punk and hardcore changed his life by showing him that through resourceful independence people can build their own scene and create on their own terms. He praises the festival for keeping it punk, fun, independent, and grimy for 25 years.
Is this his first Punk Rock Bowling poster?
No. Fairey notes this is the second time he created a poster for Punk Rock Bowling, this version marking the festival's 25th anniversary, reflecting an ongoing relationship with the event.
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.