A cultural study exchange program brought together four street artists from Los Angeles and Turkey to paint murals in each other's countries celebrating international artistic styles. Walter Meyer, a Los Angeles resident and former ad agency owner, facilitated the exchange after noticing the growth of street art in LA and Istanbul. He was intrigued by the political messages commonly featured in Istanbul's street art and how the Turkish government tried to censor such art. The document provides instructions for creating a political poster advocating for Turkey to join the European Union by tracing a photo in Illustrator and merging it with vector graphics and design elements representing Turkey.

1. CULTURAL STUDY:
TURKEY
• Political Posters
• Street Art
• Wicx and Esk Reyn
trade places with
Walter Meyer

2. CULTURAL STUDY:
INSPIRATION
A cross-cultural exchange that
bypasses politics and international squabbles has
been made possible through the unlikely medium
of street art. Four street
artists respectively from Los Angeles
and Turkey visited one another's countries to
paint a series of walls that celebrate an
international exchange of style, substance, and
education.
Walter Meyer, a former ad agency owner and Los
Angeles resident, keeps a close eye on his
community. An advocate of public art, he has
noticed a growing interest and abundance of
street art in Los Angeles as the movement has
enjoyed great success inside and outside the
professional art community.
The city of Istanbul also holds a special
place for Meyer. "I lived in Istanbul for three years
and had not visited until last December and I was
amazed at the explosion of street art." Meyer was
equally enamored by the political messages he
saw on the walls of Istanbul: "I found it engaging
because it was all over and the political
phenomena of street art was quickly washed over
by the government."

3. YOUR PROJECT: A POLITICAL
POSTER
Why should Turkey be
allowed to join the
European Union?
1. answer this question
visually
2. create a political poster
advocating for Turkey
3. Use historical and
contemporary artists as
inspiration

4. USING ILLUSTRATOR TO MAKE A
POSTER
Copy a photo to
Illustrator
While selecting
click “IMAGE
TRACE”
Using “TRACING
RESULT” adjust
Click on EXPAND Create VECTOR
graphics in
Illustrator
Create a
background using
vector graphics
Merge the image
with the
background
Add elements
representing
Turkey
Add color to the
image
Add effects