Obama ‘Hope’ designer unveils Harris ‘Forward’ artwork

The artist behind the iconic “Hope” poster of former President Obama is unveiling his latest work to support Vice President Harris’s White House bid.

The artwork from Shepard Fairey includes a one-word message: “Forward.”

“I believe VP Kamala Harris and her VP pick Tim Walz are our best chance to move forward,” Fairey wrote in a Thursday Instagram post accompanying the poster.

“They are our best chance to push back on encroaching fascism and threats to democracy, and our best chance for creating the world we all desire and deserve,” the artist added. 

Fairey suggested some of the inspiration for the “Forward” message came from a line Harris delivered at a Georgia rally last month and has since used in some of her campaign ads: “We are not going back.”

The words from Harris, Fairey said, “summarize the moment we are in, and in order not to go back, we must go FORWARD! While we have not achieved all the goals we might be seeking, we are making progress — all in the face of expanding threats and regressive political adversaries.⁠”

In a style similar to Fairey’s depiction of Obama, which he created in 2008 to support the then-Illinois senator’s presidential campaign, the Harris poster features a tri-color image of the vice president gazing ahead, with “Forward” displayed prominently in capitalized letters. 

His latest art, Fairey said, “is a tool of grassroots activism for all to use non-commercially.”

“I was not paid for it and will not receive any financial benefit from it. I created this work purely in pursuit of a better future,” he said, noting that he was including a link to download the image for free.