Hundreds of people packed Magazine Street on Thursday morning, forming a line that stretched four blocks, all hoping to score a free poster from the New Orleans artist behind Louisiana's 2026 “I Voted” sticker. The Thursday giveaway had 300 posters available.
Terrance Osborne opened his gallery at 3029 Magazine Street for the giveaway, which ran from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. and was open to anyone over 18, according to nola.com. WDSU reported that Thursday’s line stretched four blocks. NOLA.com reported that 300 posters were gone by roughly 1 p.m. during a separate Monday giveaway.
The artwork at the center of the frenzy depicts magnolia blossoms and Mardi Gras beads spilling from the bell of a trumpet, a design that New Orleans artist Terrance Osborne created for this year's statewide sticker, per Axios. Osborne has said he wanted to imagine what Louisiana would sound like if it were translated into a visual. “I immediately thought of doing magnolias,” Osborne previously told reporters, according to the same Axios report. “And then there's this bead, a Mardi Gras bead, that is pointing down. See how it's going southeast? It's a nod to New Orleans.”
A Sticker Rooted in Louisiana Culture
The sticker was handed out to voters during the Nov. 3 election, and it marks the latest chapter in a tradition that stretches back a decade. Louisiana's artist-designed “I Voted” stickers began in 2016, when the late George Rodrigue lent his Blue Dog imagery to the get-out-the-vote effort, the nola.com report notes. This year's design is the state's sixth sticker overall and the fifth to showcase a Louisiana artist, according to Louisiana Secretary of State Nancy Landry, as reported by the Hammond Star. Osborne's broader body of work has long paid tribute to New Orleans and Louisiana culture, a throughline that made him a natural fit for the honor.
A Legal Snag Changes the Giveaway's Rules
The event almost looked different than it ended up. Osborne has said the Secretary of State's office informed him that offering rewards tied to voting is against federal law, prompting a change in plans, per nola.com's reporting. Rather than limit the posters to people who had actually voted, the artist opted to give away unsigned posters to everyone who showed up, sticker or not, describing the offer as “no strings attached.” Signed copies were instead offered separately for $50.
For those who missed Thursday's giveaway, signed copies of the poster are available on Osborne's website, intended for people who did not make it into the gallery in time, according to WDSU's report. Given how quickly the first 300 posters disappeared, that online option may be the only remaining way for latecomers to get their hands on a piece of the design that turned a stretch of Magazine Street into an impromptu block party for civic art.
