Painting the town: APSU professor’s animal signs inspire voter turnout

By: Ethan Steinquest October 21, 2024

One of Professor of Art & Design Paul Collins’ vote signs at Austin Peay State University during the 2020 presidential election. | Photo by Taylor Slifko

CLARKSVILLE, Tenn. - What started as a personal project to combat isolation during the COVID-19 pandemic has become a community tradition thanks to the creative vision of Paul Collins, a professor in the Department of Art & Design at Austin Peay State University.

Artwork from his “100 Days” initiative, featuring vibrant animal-themed signs encouraging Tennesseans to vote, can now be spotted across Clarksville, Nashville, and the surrounding areas through Election Day - and community members can message him on Instagram @votesignpainter to request their own.

“I think the essential life of the project was that people started asking me for the signs, and it became more of a social thing,” Collins said. “As an artist you hope to find something that generates energy out in the world and takes on a life of its own, so that was really humbling.”

A shark-themed vote sign created as part of Paul Collins’ “100 Days” series at the intersection of Nashville’s Granny White Pike and Gale Lane. | Contributed photo

The First 100 Days

Collins began his journey 100 days before the 2020 presidential election, with the goal of creating a sign each day until the polls closed.

“The first one was a cardinal because it’s such an eye-catching messenger in the wintertime,” he said. “The leaves are gone, the plants are down, it’s gray and white, and you’ve got this fat-bellied red bird zooming across your vision. Nothing draws my attention like a cardinal, so that was the first sign and the one I painted the most throughout this process.”

One by one, these colorful animal ambassadors began appearing in public spaces and sparking conversations within the community.

“Animals can’t vote, so to me, the message is more like ‘Why wouldn’t you vote?’ or ‘I think you need to vote,’” he said. “They’re helpless in that regard, and it changes the temperature of the messaging around elections to involve animals. I mean, who doesn’t like a catfish?”

It wasn’t long before people began asking Collins for signs of their own, and he was happy to oblige.

“I feel very lucky to be doing this,” he said. “I’m giving out a lot of signs to people who make requests and meeting them on my front porch. It’s really nice to get to know new people and hear that they’re thankful and excited about this.”

Collins has also organized community giveaways at galleries and parks, and hosted a paint-your-own sign event at his studio to give people firsthand experience with the artwork.

One of Paul Collins’ signature cardinal vote signs in the process of being created. | Contributed photo

The Creative Process

Designing each sign involves cutting, painting, and sanding wood before staking or hanging it - but the process still gives Collins plenty of freedom for creative expression.

“It gives the animal figures a sort of animated, herky-jerky motion that helps the bunnies to jump and the fish to swim,” he said. “I love the process of cutting wood, but I spend most of the time painting and figuring out the unique colors, attitudes, and personalities of these characters.”

This year, Collins also worked with several local artists on a limited run of vote signs. His collaborators included Karen Seapker, Becca Jane Koehler, Alana Gordon, Marlos E’van, and Alex Blau.

“Everybody has their own hand, artistic taste, and style, and you’ll see signs being made that aren’t like anything I’d do,” he said. “It’s really exciting to share the studio space … I hadn’t realized that this was a solitary project for the vast majority of the time, so to have other people in here working with me was a lot of fun.”

A sloth-themed vote sign created as part of Paul Collins’ “100 Days” series hangs around outside an area home. | Contributed photo

From Personal Project to Public Tradition

In the years to come, Collins hopes to further develop the vote sign initiative into a collaborative community effort.

“I don’t see this as an art project anymore; I think this is a tradition, and if I could bring more voices into it, that would be amazing.” he said. “I’ll be delighted to do this at the midterms and going forward. I love making hundreds of colorful sculptures, and the fact that people want them makes me happy too.”

Whatever the future holds, Collins remains focused on the signs’ core mission: encouraging more people to exercise their right to vote.

“When we talk about people who aren’t voting, I bet you we know them - I bet you we’re related to them,” he said. “I want to encourage people to talk to their families and those closest to them about voting. However they’re going to vote, it’s important for them to get out there and do their civic duty.”