The sht’s about to hit the fans

Cosmopolitan design fans, that is. And it’s going to be amazing.

Before you reach for your umbrella, keep in mind we’re talking about the Seattle-Havana-Tehran Poster Show at Seattle’s Bumbershoot festival this weekend, organized and curated by Tether’s own Daniel R. Smith, along with Pepe Menendez of Havana and Iman Raad of Tehran.

These three cross-border design aficionados have collected arts– and culture-related posters from 51 designers hailing from their home cities to bridge political gaps and come together around something we can all get behind (or stand in front of): Super cool posters.

The curators jokingly refer to their project as a “SHT show” because, “when we get together it’s fun,” says Smith. “There are no politics, no prejudice, just an appreciation of our common interests. When we see what the other is doing—and recognize ourselves—the truth is arrived at; we are more alike than different. The real ‘shit show’ belongs to forces that try to manipulate us through stereotyping, through fear, to keep us apart.”

The exhibit groups posters in triplets that share some connection—colors, shapes, subject matter—creating an amazing side-by-side glance at each country’s design aesthetic while teasing out surprising similarities. Here’s just few of the artists: Jeff Kleinsmith, Ames Brothers, Jesse LeDoux, Edel Rodríguez Molano, Darwin Fornés Báez, Idania Del Rio, Reza Abedini, Homa Delvarai, and Farhad Fozouni.

If you can’t make Bumbershoot (or can’t handle the crowds), there’s a free public preview Friday, September 4 at Seattle Center’s International Fountain Pavillon, between the fountain and Key Arena.

This is a show that’s eight years in the making, bringing together these three cities for the first time after 2007’s Seattle-Havana Poster Show and 2008’s Seattle-Tehran Poster Show.

To get the whole story, meet the curators, and check out some of the work be sure to check out the Seattle-Havana-Tehran Poster Show website.