Shepard Fairey - 2011 Sachs Fund Prize Recipient

Shepard Fairey makes remarks at the 2011 Sachs Fund Prize Awards at the Contemporary Arts Center in Cincinnati, Ohio. Established in 1929, the Sachs Fund Prize is an award given by ArtsWave to honor artists who have made an outstanding contribution to the cultural life of Cincinnati.

"Art in general is undervalued as a way to enrich people's lives, empower them and give them something to aspire to. Imagination is really good antidepressant.

I've always felt like art had a broader role... being excited by a really cool piece of album art, a poster, a song, I felt I should take that inspiration and deliver it in a similar way. I was able to present my work inside a place that really validated my endeavors as an artist, but also the CAC understood that the precious individual art piece is only one part of what I do-

The other part that's so important is the public engagement - the murals, stickers, the other things that get my work out there. It was incredible to have that layer of my practice as an artist fully realized. To have the generous support of the museum and property owners in the city was great for me."