LWV Falmouth received a Lotte E. Scharfman Citizen Education grant in January 2021 for their “Be a Voter”–Voter Art Campaign! The Voter Art Campaign was designed to inform, inspire, encourage and remind the public to register and cast their votes and to educate them about the methods of voting and the various deadlines.
The campaign consisted of several elements:
- The creation of a vibrant three-paneled non-partisan mural. Each panel was 8ft long by 4ft wide. The public was invited to take part in painting the bold images. The event day also included the display of information about voting to reinforce the messages represented in the art that was being painted. The finished mural remained on prominent display on the busy high street in Falmouth for the month leading up to Election Day. The Public Painting Day was held on October 10th. The mural remained on display until November 4th.
- The creation of a high school Voter Art competition. All high school students in the area were invited to create a piece of non-partisan Voter Art that would call their peers and the wider community to register and cast their votes. The students were encouraged to research the history of voting and ways to vote in order to inform their work and become better educated about voting.The finished artwork was displayed and promoted via Instagram, Facebook and at a dedicated exhibition. The competition ran from September 8th through to October 20th. The artwork continued to be displayed through to November 4th.
- The creation of a public exhibition of the Voter Art at the Falmouth Art Center. A call for art was also extended via press coverage, email blasts and promotions through the art center, to the general public to join the local high school students in creating a piece of art work to inspire the community to register and vote in the upcoming election. The student and public works of art were displayed at the Falmouth Art Center for two weeks prior to the Presidential Election. The exhibition was open to the public and free of charge and was also available virtually through the Falmouth Art Center’s online gallery. The exhibition ran from October 23rd through to November 4th.
- The creation of a comprehensive media campaign. The media campaign amplified the impact of the different elements of the Voter Art initiatives at every stage: from recruiting participants to paint the mural, to securing a great turn out for the community painting day, through celebrating the students art work, to covering the collaboration between the artist and the LWV of Falmouth. Because of the original and visual nature of the different project elements, we were able to secure extensive coverage.
These initiatives were entirely new and both complemented and expanded the ongoing citizen education work of the Voter Services committee which included a Candidates Night.
Congratulations to the LWV Falmouth!