Happy Year of the Fire Horse! A roundup of Lunar New Year themed artwork!
新年快乐！马到成功！祝大家身体健康，年年有余！
xinniankuaile! madaochenggong! zhudajiashentijiankang, niannianyouyu!
Happy New Yearfavourite, may you "horse" your way into success! Wishing everyone a year of good health and prosperity!
On 17 February, we ushered in the year of the Fire Horse. I grew up celebrating the Lunar New Year in Singapore with my family, and it is my favourite holiday to celebrate every year.
Here is a small selection of my favourite print projects celebrating the Lunar New Year I've seen so far.
Lucky Risograph X W.O.W Project FCWL Lunar New Year Calendar
lucky risograph holds a special place in my heart as one of my favourite professors at Parsons, Amanda Chung, is one of its founders. They have collaborated with W.O.W Project for their annual Lunar New Year collaboration. In its fifth iteration, they have embarked on a monster of a project – a tearaway calendar. The daily calendar features contributions from 6 creatives – Mischelle Moy, Vanessa Nguyễn, Cynthia Yuan Cheng, Jen Tong, Karissa Chen, Kat Chow and Alina at the beginning of every lunar and Georgian month. Each calendar page features both the lunar and Georgian calendar dates, weekday and a monthly overview.
I have had the privilege of volunteering at lucky risograph several times over the past few weeks to assist with the assembly and collation process in the calendar. The scale of making 1,500, 384-page calendars is a project on such a large scale that most designers would not attempt on their own.
To get your hands on this calendar, you can visit any of the 12 participating businesses and spend $50 or more to receive a copy. (while stocks last!)
@caitshouse x nuar nyc mini print vending machine
Cait (@caitshouse) is a NYC-based illustrator. She rose to fame for her series on social media, where she would sketch her meals in restaurants. Cait has now done logos for cafes and restaurants in New York City and live-sketching events.
For Lunar New Year, she has created a series of mini-prints that can be purchased for $1 each at a print vending machine at nuar (48 W 27th Street, New York, New York 10001).
Print vending machines have become increasingly popular in New York. Anastasia Inciardi, a Brooklyn-based printmaker and artist, launched her first mini print vending machine in December 2022. There are now over 100 machines in circulation across the United States, 14 of them within New York City. Find them here.
Eight Horses Print by Singha Hon
New York City-based illustrator Singha Hon created this spectacular illustration for W.O.W Project's Lunar New Year project. In a self-described "queer interpretation" of Chinese 「八駿圖」’Eight Horses Galloping’ ink paintings, Hon highlights the 12 businesses in the From Chinatown With Love Calendar (see above!). The illustration invites viewers to browse through the intricate details in each horse.
You can purchase a print for yourself online here, or head over to Wing on Wo & Co. (W.O.W.), the oldest continuously operating store in Manhattan's Chinatown at 26 Mott St, New York, NY 10013.
Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse Zine by @akaa.null
San Francisco-based artist Akaa Ling released this handmade risograph zine to honour the year of the Fire Horse. The limited edition zine looks into the four horsemen of the apocalypse – war, famine, death and pestilence and how the symbol of the horse can be interpreted across different contexts and cultures.
This zine was printed at now place in San Francisco and can be purchased online here.
That marks the end of my online browsing adventures for now! Happy year of the Fire Horse to those who celebrate!
Until next time,
Xinyi
