Klaus Welp OAF juliste julistekilpailu meksikon biennaali

OAF 2023 poster selected for the Mexico Biennale exhibition!

The 2023 OAF poster has been selected for the Mexico Biennale exhibition (Bienal Internacional del Cartel en México – BICM 18), one of the world’s most prestigious poster competitions, with over 450 posters from around the world!

To celebrate this great recognition, we interviewed Klaus Welp, who designed the poster and has been responsible for the OAF’s posters and visual identity from the very beginning. Welp is a Helsinki-based photojournalist, illustrator, photographer, short video director and activist.

How did the poster end up in the Mexico Biennial exhibition?

“In recent years, I have been networking through international poster jury assignments and I was on the jury of the last Mexico Biennale. I have not been active in sending my own posters to the competitions in the past, but I am really happy that I did now. The OAF poster is particularly important to me, and I feel it successfully communicates the spirit and message of the festival.”

What does the poster mean to you as an art form and a visual communication tool?

“Poster art is experiencing a kind of renaissance, especially in Central Europe, where young people have rediscovered the medium and expression has become freer. It was posters that brought me into the field of visual communication. For example, the Soviet-era cultural posters of Poland and Czechoslovakia, which were full of hidden meanings, made quite an impression on me as a young person. If successful, a poster has enormous power to illustrate and communicate social, environmental and cultural themes.”

What do you think the 2023 OAF poster communicates and where did you get the inspiration for it?

“The OAF is the one of my clients that I am most proud of. I feel privileged to be part of the OAF team and have made new friends from diverse backgrounds. I wanted the poster to express the unapologetic attitude that exists within OAF and its artists. Let’s kick open the mental doors and come out – whether you like it or not!”

You have designed the visual identity of the OAF from the very beginning. How would you describe the visual identity of the festival and its evolution?

“A lot has to be said for the legacy of the founding team of Pertti’s Choice. The band’s music and punk spirit combined with the special needs groups has really opened a lot of eyes and minds. The basic message is that we are who we are, and that’s been a guiding principle in my work. In future OAF posters – and in the art of the festival and its creators – anything goes!”

Read more: Bienal Internacional del Cartel en México – BICM 18, Klaus Welp’s homepage