The Urban Forest Project presented the work of 185 celebrated designers, artists, illustrators, photographers and students on 3'x8’ banners which were on display on street poles throughout Times Square from August 17 thru November 30, 2006.

Each banner used the form of the tree, or a metaphor for the tree, to make a powerful visual statement. Together they created a forest of thought-provoking images at the Crossroads of the World, one of the planet’s busiest, most energetic and emphatically urban intersections. Some banners embodied visceral responses to pressing environmental, political and social issues. Others used the evocative power of nature to develop rich patterns and abstract forms that delighted the viewer.

The tree is metaphor for sustainability, and in that spirit the banners from the exhibition were recycled into totebags designed exclusively for the project by Jack Spade. Profits from sales of the totebags benefitted Worldstudio AIGA Scholarships and the AIGA/NY Mentoring Program to sustain the next generation of design talent.

The success of The Urban Forest Project has lead to projects in other cities; to date Portland, Oregon in the spring of 2007, Denver, Colorado, in the fall of 2007, www.denverurbanforest.com. Other cities to be announced soon!

If you would like to plant a forest of creativity in your community contact Mark Randall at mrandall@worldstudioinc.com.

Visit the project website: http://www.urbanforestproject.org