In late November of 2025, I was offered an opportunity to submit a design to the contest for Tuscaloosa’s poster for the Freedom 250 City Art Poster Project. My submission was accepted and was displayed to represent Tuscaloosa in Washington DC and Long Beach, California at the Mayor’s Conferences in 2026. Thanks, Mayor Maddox!
“Local artist Jude Weaver's design was selected out of numerous submissions to represent Tuscaloosa.” -Tuscaloosa.com
“Next year marks America’s Semiquincentennial—the 250th anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence. To commemorate this historic milestone, the U.S. Conference of Mayors (USCM), in partnership with the National Endowment for the Arts (NEA), has launched the Freedom 250 City Art Poster Project. This project is delivered as a component of the Mayor’s Institute on City Design, a leadership initiative of the National Endowment for Arts and the United States Conference of Mayors.” -USAMayors.org
https://www.usmayors.org/programs/america-250-city-art-poster-project/
As soon as I got the email about the project, I was inspired to use Black Warrior River as the focal point of the design. Without the river, the city would’ve never been founded. The city and the river are named after Native American Chief Tuskaloosa, so I knew I had to include him, too. I loved the idea of the Chief pouring out the river.
The history of the South is complex, and Tuscaloosa is no exception. Fortunately, there is also much to celebrate, and I chose Vivian Malone to represent the advance of the Civil Rights movement in our city. She was the first Black American to graduate from the University of Alabama in 1965.
Once of the most incredible things about the state of Alabama is the abundance of biodiversity. I was determined to include as much of this fact as possible. I searched and found animals and plants that are native to Alabama and especially the Tuscaloosa region for the design.
I had so much information I wanted to convey! Because all this research made me nostalgic for my 4th grade studies in local history, I thought an artistic info graphic with labels would work well and be relatable for all ages. The directions I received were to showcase civic pride in our city’s history, culture, and future and I was delighted to learn that the motto for Tuscaloosa is “Together we can build a bridge to the future”.
I started the beginnings of an idea on the back on an envelope. Eventually I made multiple layout sketches to help me solidify all the elements and used Procreate on the iPad to complete the artwork.
Final size 24”x34”