An exhibition created for ICA LA’s Annex gallery in conjunction with the Bookshelf Residency with GenderFail. The installation is based entirely on a publication of the same name published in early 2024 by GenderFail and presents the ongoing series of open source fonts sourced from and inspired by protest signs of events since the Stonewall Riots in 1969.


This exhibition features 12 risograph printed font specimen posters to showcase 10 protest fonts created since 2018. Every time these fonts are used in a poster, publication or graphic, its original source is incendiary linked to its source materials—fonts sourced from protests for Free Palestine; the historic Seize Control of the FDA action for ACT UP; The Brooklyn Liberation March for Black Trans Lives in 2020 during the pandemic; protests for fair union contracts for adjunct or support staff at RISD and Parsons;  the unending protest signs of black people murdered by police or a single protest sign stating “MOTHER NATURE IS A LESBIAN” and “I AM YOUR WORST FEAR I AM YOUR BEST FANTASY”. The history of these events live on each time the font is used by future generations of Queer, trans and non-binary people.





Also featured are 25 open source work examples printed exclusively for this exhibition. These works thematically and broadly fit into four different categories: personal, collective, institutional, and protest. All featured works were created by others through the open source permission model that allows participants to use these open source fonts freely for their own personal, fundraising, or for-profit uses.





A commissioned essay by emily sara of Cripple, the artist’s purposely non-linear publishing initiative supporting disabled artists and designers, is also on view. sara presents their new protest inspired font 504 font with letters pulled from posters of the 504 Protests. sara states:

“Only ABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRSTUVWXYZ and 504 and ! are available. Z, missing from documentation, is an image of Judy Heumann—who continues to live on through the protests and the innate fiery nature of our crippled community.“

GenderFail Protest Font Print Collection

BUY HERE

12 11x17 In Risograph prints
Printed by Be Oakley


This collection is compiled on the occasion of  An incessant unknowability: An archive of protest-inspired Typography and it’s open source uses, an exhibition on view from December 4th - March 2, 2025, at the Institute of Contemporary Art, Los Angeles: Annex Gallery. This exhibition is presented in conjunction with the ICALA Bookshelf Residency with GenderFail. The installation is based entirely on a publication of the same name published in early 2024 by GenderFail founder Be Oakley, and presents the ongoing series of open-source fonts sourced from and inspired by protest signs of events since the Stonewall Riots in 1969.

Additionally, GenderFail’s STAR font, featured in this collection, inspired by Street Transvestite Action Revolutionaries activist banners, is featured in the Scientia Sexualis catalog and exhibition title font currently part of the exhibitions at the ICALA. Scientia Sexualis is an ambitious group survey of contemporary artists whose works show the fraught relationship between sex, gender, and science. Curated by Jennifer Doyle and Jeanne Vaccaro.


This collection of 12 risograph prints showcases all protest fonts designed and created between the years 2017-2024. This collection is available on a sliding scale between $250-$500. The fonts include Mother Nature is a Lesbian, i am your worst fear i am your best fantasy / FIRST GAY AMERICANS, Act Up Protest Font,  Black Trans Lives Matter, SAY THEIR NAME, Street Transvestite Action Revolutionaries, Seize Control of the FDA - Act Up Protest, RISD Teamsters / Parsons Adjunct Strike, If I die of AIDS—forget burial—just drop my body on the steps of the F.D.A.,  RISD Teamsters / Parsons Adjunct Strike and JEWS SAY STOP GENOCIDE OF PALESTINIANS.

This collection also includes a commissioned print/essay by emily sara of Cripple, the artist’s purposely non-linear publishing initiative supporting disabled artists and designers. sara presents their new protest-inspired font 504 font with letters pulled from posters of the 504 protests inspired by GenderFail’s protest fonts.




Download at: https://genderfailpress.info/PROTEST-FONTS