“We drove right past the box and had to circle the block to find it. Then we saw your projection. There are no boxes in our area in East Oakland. So glad you are out here. Thank you!”
– Oakland voter (October 24, 2020)
Project Your Vote uses original, slow motion video footage and high powered projectors to project video on or near large polling places and drop boxes in major cities leading up to the 2020 election. The projections are an effort to tie the recent protests to the history of voting via the civil rights movement of the 60’s, inform voters about where to find help for voting issues (866-OUR-VOTE), and to build voting energy and excitement in important battleground states.
All the footage was provided to anyone through a free, downloadable Project Your Vote Kit, which included fifteen different sets of videos with pre-election and post election signage, PDF signs to print your own, the song Put In Work (2020 remix) by Medusa Feline Science and a PDF containing advice for projecting and other projection resources.
The video imagery transports the Civil Rights era to the present day through stunningly beautiful images that transition from black and white to full color as they rise in slow motion from crouching to standing with their historic signs demanding Voting Rights Now and more contemporary ones, including: 866 OUR VOTE: Call or Text if You Have Questions or Problems.
63 other artists in ten states — including such battleground states as Florida, Michigan, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Texas, Washington, and Nevada — downloaded Project Your Vote’s free DIY Projection Kit before the 2020 election. Post election messaging on the importance of counting every vote was also available immediately for the post election uncertainty. Once the votes were counted, messaging of ‘The People Have Spoken’ was available.
Credits:
Lead Artist Packard Jennings. Conceived, Filmed and Produced by Packard Jennings, Production, Outreach, Casting and Wardrobe Direction by Jessica Tully, Casting, Wardrobe and Social Media by Felicia Gonzalez, Co-production by Loushana Rose, Music by Medusa Feline Science.
Funded by The Center for Artistic Activism as part of the Unstoppable Voters initiative. Additional funding from Culture Surge.
Featuring: Moonoka Begay, Decoven Benton Bell, Jamella Cross, Dajanique Cruz, Daniel Davies, Brittany Bre Gipson, Felicia Gonzalez, Gyanai Grant and Paige Mayes.
Projectionists
The Illuminator, Robert David Jones, Courtney Frances Fallon, Damani Higgins, Lazer Bob, Core Studios, Jessica Tully and Packard Jennings.
Photographers: Lenny Gonzales, The Illuminator, Robert David Jones, Courtney Frances Fallon, Damani Higgins, Lazer Bob, Core Studios, Gunthar Hartwig, Jessica Tully and Packard Jennings.
Special Thanks to: ProArts, Becky Bond, Whitney Black, Steve Snider, Chales, Michele Pred, Louis Fox, Gunthar Hartwig, Josh Churchhill, Trilce Santana, Mellanique Roshebeaux, B*tch You Betta, OakCentral, Femme Deadly Venoms, Future Coalition, SEIU, Color of Change, Working Family Party, NAACP Action Ohio, Brujx Block and For Freedoms.
