50 States Exhibit Preview
In 2017, we took a giant leap, sold everything, bought our Airstream, and left our careers in fashion to take our [HAS HEART] nonprofit mission across the country. So far, we’ve made it to 39/50 states to partner a veteran with a graphic designer in each one to share their story through art and design. At the end of 2021, we opened a preview exhibit featuring the first 12 state projects at the Saugatuck Center for the Arts.
Installation Process:
The concept of the exhibit was to welcome visitors into the [HAS HEART] family room. It took a few months of rummaging through thrift stores and estate sales to find the 120+ wooden frames to surround custom-sized images of the behind-the-scenes process of each design, including artist sketches, notes, and early concepts.
As you can imagine, the variety of frame sizes, layouts, photo sizes, hand-trimming, and framing everything was quite a process.
Virtual Exhibit Walk-Through
Before you walk into the exhibit room, you’re met with a large-scale map route painted on the wall with the checklist of each city and state stop on the tour.
Within the map legend, you see that the green states are the projects that have launched online, the brown are projects that have been completed but not yet launched, and the khaki-colored states are the 11 states remaining to execute, produce, and launch to complete the 50 States: Veterans + Artists United tour.
Exhibit Feature 01
When you turn to your right about to enter the double doors into the exhibit, you get an overview of the room. Immediately to your left is the background story of [HAS HEART], how and why we were established, and a synopsis of the first 10 years of our grassroots efforts. Below the signage is a vignette of a few of the previous products we’ve produced from collaborations with Bates Footwear, Starbucks Reserve, Harbinger Leather, and more.
Then, the letter feltboards introduce Kendra and me before welcoming you to join us on tour of the first 12 state projects.
Exhibit Feature 02
As you continue down the long left wall, you’re able to become a fly on the wall at each project, starting with the first one titled “Ca-Deuces” in Burlington, Vermont before traveling on further to “Don’t Panic” from Portland, Maine, “Transform” in Portsmouth, New Hampshire, “XVII Carvings” in Boston, Massachusetts, and “Take Flight” out of Providence, Rhode Island.
Once you reach the end of the room, you’ll learn that “The Best Time” to make friends is before you need them in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
Exhibit Feature 03
At this point, you might be a little road weary and ready for a break. We know we’ve been there many, many times before.
During this tour, we realized the importance of being able to reset by getting outdoors and unplugging from modern life’s distractions to make life a little slower. You’ll likely recognize the Snow Peak chairs and Takibi fire pit ;)
Unfortunately, we couldn’t have a real bonfire, but we at least (safely) lit an incense during the opening reception to encourage visitors to pull up a chair around the campfire.
Exhibit Feature 04
After a much-needed escape into nature, we hit the pavement again into the concrete jungle of new york city where we worked with MTV for our Connecticut project, “Believe In Your Weakness.”
Then, we took everything in at the 9/11 Memorial & Museum with a WWII veteran and his great-nephew designer Jon Contino, who encouraged us to “Don’t Look Back.”
A small wall breaks up the rest of the exhibit, enabling visitors to pause and review the workshop packet we developed to guide each of these state projects, including a list of sample questions for the artist to ask their veteran partner, note pages, and a variety of t-shirt templates to aid in the designer’s sketching process.
On the other side of the wall, we answered a handful of Frequently Asked Questions about the organization, the powerful collaborative design process, and the remainder of the tour.
Exhibit Feature 05
After rounding the corner, but before proceeding to the final wall of states, you circle the collaborative workspace in the center of the room.
As if the artist and veteran stood up and left the room, you’re able to see the process from start to finish — from the designer’s notes taken about the veteran’s story, Post-Its we use to help brainstorm key concepts to narrow down on their message, to quick thumbnails and shirt design sketches.
As you finish walking around the table, you’ll see our highly decorated decal trunk that visually represents the countless miles, sites, and sounds we experienced along the way from coast to coast, border to border.
Exhibit Feature 06
You’ve made it this far and are now on the home stretch to the final four state projects, resuming in Jersey City and accepting, “And So It Goes.” then in Annapolis, Maryland, an incredible story of self-discovery causes a moment of “Reflection" before you move onto the on-going battle of “Two Tales” in Chantilly, Virginia.
Finally, you make it to Delaware, where a letterpress print studio couple wished their late fathers would have shared more about their “Untold Stories.”
Exhibit Feature 07
As you head back towards the double doors, you’ll notice my late Grandpa’s Army bag and wooden shipping container displayed underneath a few interesting statistics from the tour:
-
567
-
44,741
-
2,268
-
39
-
41
-
50
-
123
-
11
Tennessee
Kentucky
Ohio
Indiana
Illinois
Wisconsin
South Dakota
North Dakota
Minnesota
Michigan -
12
