Most artists will tell you that they find inspiration all around them…and this summer, you can, too! If you live in Chicago, Florida, or California, Scholastic Awards alum Andy Warhol’s iconic Campbell’s Soup Can (Tomato) will be on display in a very public place near you. In fact, this painting and 57 others, chosen by fellow Americans, will appear all across America—for August only—for free! What a way to celebrate what would be the 86th birthday of Andy.
All of the original artworks can be found at one of five museums teaming up in this effort: The Art Institute of Chicago, the Dallas Museum of Art, the Los Angeles County Museum of Art, The National Gallery of Art in Washington, DC, and NY’s Whitney Museum of American Art. Founder of Art Everywhere Richard Reed came up with the idea in London last year when he saw an uplifting painting while walking to work on a dreary day. He staged the first Art Everywhere in London last summer and his vision is “to flood our streets with art; to loosen up our cities. To create moments of beauty and reflection amongst our daily commutes…”
The Scholastic Awards are also contributing to community art this year! Steven Paul, 2014 Gold Medalist, had his Award-winning photo transformed into a six story hand-painted mural in June with help from Colossal Media. The larger than life photo, Lost Time, is still on display in Williamsburg, Brooklyn. Check out the details here, and if you’re in the area, head to 111 Broadway to check it out!
On billboards, bus shelters, on your walk to work–when you least expect it–keep your eye out for art everywhere. Check out the map to find the masterpiece nearest you. You can admire it, tweet about it, instagram photos of yourself in front of it (and if you’re at Steven’s Brooklyn mural, be sure to tag #AWawards and #AlwaysHandPaint), but most of all we hope that you will be inspired by it…to make art and submit it to the 2015 Awards!