Shepard Fairey was born in Charleston, S.C. and received his Bachelor of Fine Arts in Illustration at the Rhode Island School of Design in Providence, R.I. As a student there he created the “Andre the Giant has a Posse” sticker that transformed into the OBEY GIANT art campaign, which featured imagery that has changed the way people see art and the urban landscape. His work has evolved into an acclaimed body of art, which includes the 2008 "Hope" portrait of Barack Obama, found at the Smithsonian’s National Portrait Gallery.

Fairey has been awarded the Art Wynwood Tony Goldman Lifetime Artistic Achievement Award and Visionary Award, the Muslim Public Affairs Council (MPAC) Voices of Courage Media Award, is a Rush Arts honoree, the first-ever P.S. ARTS heART Award, an honorary doctorate from Pratt Institute, and more.