Maya McFadden Photo
The eighth and final billboard was put on display Tuesday for the city government’s Covid-19 “Mask Up” campaign on Middletown Avenue.
The billboard showcases a masked portrait of local musician and producer Aaron “Y.A” Rogers with the New Haven Covid-19 hotline number and the words: “Any one, any age can get the virus.”
The series of billboards displaying local influencers will stay up four weeks from the date they were posted.
“It shows that not only are they [influencers] proud of helping their community, but it also helps to spread the public health message through different channels and mediums,” said city arts chief Adriane Jefferson, who helped put together the “Mask Up” campaign. (Click here for a previous story on the campaign.)
Jeff Cronin a bill poster for Outfront Media installed the final billboard Tuesday morning.
Many of the influencers have been sharing their faces on social media to celebrate while also spreading the word about mask-wearing to their audiences. The influencers’ shares have ranged from taking pictures in front of the billboards to shooting music videos in front of them.
The campaign used community influencers of color to pose and spread the word particularly to black and brown residents, whose communities have been hit the hardest by the coronavirus.
“People are excited to see other people that look like them on billboards. It’s not something that happens every day,” Jefferson said.
Using trusted and influential community members for the campaign can spread facts in a respected, powerful, and culturally relevant way, Jefferson said.
The other billboard posters are displayed on Whalley Avenue, Dixwell Avenue, State Street, Humphrey Street, Quinnipiac Avenue, Forbes Avenue, and the Ella T Grasso Boulevard.
“We are seeing the power of using community voices and artist’s voices as activists within their own community,” said Jefferson. “We’re able to say to the intended audience that your life matters, black and brown lives matter, so please mask up.”
