Shepard Fairey Draws Andy Burnham for Big Issue Collectors' Cover
Shepard Fairey, the US street artist who made the "Hope" portrait of Barack Obama for the 2008 presidential campaign, has drawn UK prime minister Andy Burnham for a new collectors' edition of the Big Issue magazine. The portrait, titled "Home", is the cover of that edition, and it was designed exclusively for the Big Issue, which approached Fairey to create the artwork.
The picture shows Burnham in a red Big Issue tabard, the branded top worn by the magazine's sellers. He wore it in 2023, when, as mayor of Greater Manchester, he sold copies alongside a vendor named Colin. Big Issue vendors are people who sell the magazine on the streets.
According to The Guardian, the portrait is intended as a reminder to Burnham of his pledge to tackle rough sleeping, which means sleeping outdoors. The collectors' edition also carries an exclusive interview with Burnham.
Copies of the edition will be sold on streets from the Monday after 15 November, and can be ordered from the Big Issue's online shop. The portrait will also be shown on the walls of the Saatchi Gallery in London, as part of Beyond the Streets, a six-month exhibition on street culture.
Russell Blackman, the Big Issue's managing director, said the organisation has supported 110,000 vendors in the 35 years since it launched. Vendors have sold more than 230 million copies of the magazine, earning £162 million between them.
