The Exchange (On the Run Books)

The Exchange project started in 2005, with just six participants from different areas of the United States. Today, the group includes thirty three members worldwide. The participants of The Exchange pair up with other artists from the group, trading names, outlines and personal styles with one another. One artist draws a sketch in the other artist's name, scans it and sends it via email for the other artist to print out and execute. This procedure is repeated as the participating artists' change, the idea being that all artists will have the opportunity to exchange artwork with everyone in the group at some point in time. The process aims to draw attention to distinct lettering styles and trends. The goal for the individual artist is to become more versatile and open minded through attempts at graffiti styles out of their personal comfort zone. As they rise to the challenge and push through old limitations the artists learn new techniques, ideas and compositions that they can take back into their own work. A fun project with positive outcomes for all collaborating artists, it is no wonder that it has become a worldwide trend as unaffiliated but similar projects start to appear on the scene.