David Attyah
San Francisco, CA
photographer / social issues graphic artist
*award shared with S.A. Bachman
David Attyah is an artist, anthropologist, and community activist who co-founded with artist and educator S. A. Bachman, a collaborative effort called THINK AGAIN, an artist-activist collaborative that talks back to mainstream ideas that perpetuate injustice. Conceptually, THINK AGAIN’s work covers a broad array of progressive political themes: from racism to gender inequality, from economic injustice to gay rights. Their work combines humor, cultural theory, and hard sociological evidence in posters, postcards, and billboards. All of their artwork is distributed at no-cost and given out through exhibitions, events, direct mail, non-profit organizations, and the web at www.agitart.org.
During the summer of 2002, THINK AGAIN’s work was included in the historical retrospective “Antagonismes” at the Museu d´Art Contemporani de Barcelona In 2000, THINK AGAIN’s work was exhibited in the “Culture of Class” at The Maryland Institute Art Gallery and is traveling in “Sex, Lies and Stereotypes” and “No Human Is Illegal”, two exhibitions organized by the Center for the Study of Political Graphics in Los Angeles. An exhibition of their work also travels to colleges across the United States.
THINK AGAIN’s “Economic Boom For Whom” and “Popping The Question” billboard campaigns have received widespread media attention. Their work has been reproduced in various national magazines including Ms., The Progressive, Juxtapoz, Teen Voices, as well as the Boston Globe and the book Economic Apartheid in America. Additionally, their postcards have been distributed in the U.S., Europe, Australia and Asia.
In addition to receiving an award from the Tanne Foundation, THINK AGAIN has received grants from the New England Foundation for the Arts, the Massachusetts Cultural Council, the Resist Foundation, the Puffin Foundation, the LEF Foundation, and the Gunk Foundation.
This bio/description was originally published in 2001 and updated in 2019. For more current information, please refer to the award recipient's website (if provided).