Gauntlet Gallery
What is Shepard Fairey’s piece called “Not A Terrorist”?
Artist Statement
This "Not a Terrorist" print is a reminder that despite pervasive fear-mongering, Islamophobia, and anti-Arab rhetoric we are all equally human and deserving of equal human rights. I've traveled across the world and found kind, creative, thoughtful people everywhere I've been, including the Middle East and Africa. People are people everywhere and anyone who says otherwise has an agenda to promote hate and divide that should be rejected. Travel is an eye and mind opener I'd highly recommend! -Shepard LETTERPRESS DETAILS: Not a Terrorist. 13" H x 10" W. Letterpress on cream cotton paper with hand-deckled edges.. Signed by Shepard Fairey. Numbered edition of 450. Obey publishing chop in lower left corner. Comes with a Digital Certificate of Authenticity provided by Verisart. $65.
Summary
Not A Terrorist is a 2026 letterpress print by Shepard Fairey, published by Obey Giant in a signed, numbered first edition of 450. It measures 13 inches high by 10 inches wide, printed on cream cotton paper with hand-deckled edges and an Obey publishing chop in the lower left corner. The piece carries Fairey's stated message rejecting Islamophobia and anti-Arab rhetoric and affirming equal human rights and shared humanity. It ships with a Verisart digital Certificate of Authenticity and was listed at $65. The intimate letterpress format underscores its direct, text-forward human-rights statement.
Why It Matters
Not A Terrorist is a pointed human-rights and civil-rights statement, one of Fairey's most direct rebukes of Islamophobia and anti-Arab rhetoric. In his own words, the print is a reminder that, despite pervasive fear-mongering, all people are equally human and deserving of equal rights, a message he grounds in his own travels through the Middle East and Africa. This places the work squarely in Fairey's tradition of socially engaged art that confronts prejudice and division. The choice of letterpress on hand-deckled cotton paper gives the piece a crafted, intimate quality distinct from his large screen prints, foregrounding text and message over spectacle. For collectors, its value lies in its clarity of stance and its alignment with a recognizable strand of Fairey's activism around equality and human dignity. At $65 in a relatively small edition of 450, with the Obey publishing chop and Verisart authentication, it is accessible yet pointed. Its significance is as a contemporary protest statement that continues Fairey's decades-long use of art to challenge hate and assert shared humanity, sitting alongside his other civil-rights and justice-themed releases.
Collector Perspective
Not A Terrorist appeals to collectors who value Fairey's activist and human-rights work and want a piece with an explicit, message-driven stance. The letterpress medium, hand-deckled edges, and Obey publishing chop give it a tactile, collectible quality that distinguishes it from his screen prints. At $65 in a numbered edition of 450, it is highly accessible, suiting newer collectors and those building a civil-rights or social-justice themed grouping. The compact 13 x 10 inch format makes it easy to frame and display in a wall cluster of activist works. The signature and Verisart COA reassure on authenticity. It fits collections centered on Fairey's political and human-rights statements.
Historical Context
Not A Terrorist continues Fairey's long arc of socially engaged art confronting prejudice, here directed at Islamophobia and anti-Arab rhetoric. Published by Obey Giant with the Obey publishing chop, it reflects the activist core of his practice that has run from his early propaganda-inflected work through his Obama-era and modern-activism output. The letterpress medium marks a more crafted, text-forward approach within his contemporary period, prioritizing the directness of the message. Within his arc, this 2026 release reaffirms Fairey's commitment to human-rights themes and shared humanity, extending the civil-rights and justice strand of his catalog into a current moment of debate over migration, identity, and prejudice.
FAQ
What is the message of Not A Terrorist?
In Fairey's words, the print rejects Islamophobia and anti-Arab rhetoric, affirming that all people are equally human and deserving of equal human rights, drawing on his travels through the Middle East and Africa.
What medium and size is the print?
It is a letterpress print measuring 13 inches high by 10 inches wide on cream cotton paper with hand-deckled edges and an Obey publishing chop in the lower left corner.
What is the edition size and price?
It is a signed, numbered first edition of 450, published by Obey Giant and listed at $65, with a Verisart digital Certificate of Authenticity.
How is the print authenticated?
It is signed by Shepard Fairey, numbered, carries the Obey publishing chop, and comes with a digital Certificate of Authenticity provided by Verisart.
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.