Wells Fargo Commissions Original Art Depicting the African American Experience
10 February 2016 - 6:18AM
Business Wire
Company enlists African American artist Keith
Rosemond II to create illustrations inspired by real stories from
its #MyUntold℠ storytelling campaign
Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE: WFC) recently commissioned
Atlanta-based artist Keith Rosemond II to create six original
illustrations depicting the African American experience. The
personal stories were selected from #MyUntold℠, the company’s
online-storytelling collection which provides the African American
community an opportunity to share stories reflecting their cultural
identity. Wells Fargo will surprise the six storytellers with
Rosemond’s original illustrations, and feature additional designs
from Rosemond on debit and credit card designs through Wells
Fargo’s Card Design Studio® service.
This Smart News Release features multimedia.
View the full release here:
http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20160209006561/en/
(L to R) Ross Oscar Knight poses with
Atlanta based artist, Keith Rosemond II, who created original art
inspired by Ross' story shared as part of Wells Fargo's #MyUntold
collection. (Photo: Business Wire)
“We’ve collected hundreds of stories through the #MyUntold
campaign. People are genuinely moved by the opportunity to have
their voices heard and become part of a movement that deepens
cultural awareness,” said Lisa Frison, vice president, African
American segment strategy leader, Wells Fargo. “We continue to
explore new ways to connect with communities in meaningful ways –
and in this case we’re excited to support local artists like Keith
to help us bring these rich stories to life in other mediums.”
Rosemond has formal training as an illustrator and graphic
designer from the Savannah College of Art and Design and has an
appreciation for both traditional and contemporary art. According
to the artist, he creates artwork that blends two great passions:
spiritual growth and music. “I am honored to work with Wells Fargo
to memorialize some of the inspirational #MyUntold stories,” said
Rosemond. “The intersection of oral and visual storytelling is
powerful and I’m proud that my artwork is associated with this
program.”
#MyUntold Storytellers Inspire
Art
One of the first featured storytellers is Ross Oscar Knight, who
shared his struggles with overcoming cultural adversity and a
speech disorder in grade school. “It was so embarrassing to explain
my thoughts only to end up tripping over a pile of words,” said
Knight in his #MyUntold story.
Rosemond depicted Knight’s story through a pen-and-ink
illustration of how a teacher helped him overcome stuttering with
the gift of a disposable camera and an assignment to chronicle his
daily life. This was a turning point for Knight who noted: “As I
referred to the images as visual cues I was able to speak clearly!
That’s when I fell in love with the transformative power of
photography.” Today, Knight works as an international photographer
and speaker.
“I’ve always enjoyed drawing inspiration from poetry and
abstract thoughts, so hearing stories like Ross’ and having the
opportunity to dig deep and find the underlying meaning was great.
Through this experience and the #MyUntold platform I have learned
that history is being written now and so many people have so many
stories to tell,” added Rosemond.
Wells Fargo Untold Stories Collection
Customized Debit and Credit Card Designs
Wells Fargo also commissioned Rosemond to craft three original
pieces for customized debit and credit card designs, inspired by
the spirit of the stories on the #MyUntold platform. Designs
include:
- Look Up: mimics stained glass,
with aspiration and optimism coming to life in a card design that
represents an enduring will to live an inspired life and to inspire
others.
- Family Bonds: symbolizes the
strength and unity that holds the African American family
together.
- Hip Hop Legacy: reflects the
birth of a culture. The “boom-box” design celebrates the influence
of hip-hop on all facets of American and global culture – from
music, to dialect to fashion, and beyond.
In celebration of Black History Month, customers can now order
customized debit and credit card designs featuring exclusive art
from Rosemond through Wells Fargo’s Card Design Studio®
service.
Customers with eligible debit and credit cards can simply sign
on to wellsfargo.com to access Card Design Studio® (Untold Stories
Collection category in the Image Library) and choose from one of
three designs.
“Great care went into developing each design,” said Candace
McCullom, vice president, marketing program manager, Wells Fargo.
“Our team worked closely with Keith to ensure the imagery
celebrated very important aspects of African American culture. We
are beyond excited to release the designs to customers, and
grateful to extend the #MyUntold experience in an innovative way as
the nation honors Black History Month.”
For more information on the stories that influenced the art, or
to share your story, please visit www.wellsfargo.com/myuntold.
About Wells Fargo
Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE: WFC) is a diversified,
community-based financial services company with $1.8 trillion
in assets. Founded in 1852 and headquartered in San Francisco,
Wells Fargo provides banking, insurance, investments, mortgage, and
consumer and commercial finance through 8,700 locations,
approximately 13,000 ATMs, the internet (wellsfargo.com) and mobile
banking, and has offices in 36 countries to support customers who
conduct business in the global economy. With approximately 265,000
team members, Wells Fargo serves one in three households in the
United States. Wells Fargo & Company was ranked No. 30 on
Fortune’s 2015 rankings of America’s largest corporations. Wells
Fargo’s vision is to satisfy our customers’ financial needs and
help them succeed financially. Wells Fargo perspectives are
also available at Wells Fargo Blogs and Wells Fargo Stories.
About #MyUntold
#MyUntoldsm is a social media movement dedicated
to sharing personal stories that define what it means to be African
American today. The program leverages the reach, power and
influence of social media to provide an intimate look into the
African American experience. #MyUntold creates a platform
for building cultural awareness and promoting healthy dialogue.
Wells Fargo invites people to contribute their inspiring untold
stories in video, photo or writing. Users can upload stories to the
official website (www.wellsfargo.com/myuntold) and share content on
their social media sites using #MyUntold.
View source
version on businesswire.com: http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20160209006561/en/
Wells Fargo & CompanyMediaMelody Thuston,
312-729-4221MThuston@golin.comorValerie Williams,
704-743-6544valerie.williams@wellsfargo.com@ValWilliamsWF
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