It’s Just Me

Maria Papaefstathiou aka It’s Just Me is a visual designer and blogger living in Athens, Greece. She focuses her research on poster design, particularly social posters and portraits. Her ongoing project is an extensive series celebrating great personalities of traditional and popular culture in Greece and Jamaica. These include actors, singers, musicians, poets etc.

Maria is the founder and editor of the Graphic Art News blog which was established in 2010. There, she carefully curates high-quality designs, illustrations and art from all over the world that teach and excite other designers. Many consider her blog to be an exceptional educational tool.

On December 2011, Maria partnered with the creative activist Michael Thompson aka Freestylee to launch the International Reggae Poster Contest. It is the only contest of its kind, highlighting the global reach of Jamaican popular culture. The 7th competition was held in 2020. Numerous exhibitions of the top 100 winning posters have been mounted, the first in Jamaica in 2012. There have been exhibitions in Greece, Cyprus, Cuba, Spain, Poland, the UK, Germany, Mexico, and the US.

In 2018, Maria curated the exhibition, “1st Medical Cannabis Intl. Invitational Poster Exhibition, for which she invited 50 designers from 27 countries. The exhibition was held in Athens, Greece and the art is still available for other shows.

Maria has received many awards and has been invited to participate in numerous international exhibitions in several countries such as Greece, Cyprus, Poland, the UK, Mexico, Turkey, South Africa, China, Belgium, Bolivia, Ecuador, Iran, Indonesia, South Korea, Indonesia, and the USA. She has also been a juror for several poster competitions (Escucha mi Voz, C -IDEA design award, Ecuador Poster Bienal). Maria Papaefstathiou’s creative practice is motivated by the conviction that design is a powerful tool that can spark enthusiasm, change mindsets and inspire positive action.

 

Links:
Portfolio: www.itsjustme.net • IRPC: www.reggaepostercontest.com
Blog: www.graphicart-news.com

Social Links:

Exhibitions:

  • (2012)
    • “Posters for Japan” exhibition curated by Green+You in South Korea
  • (2012 – 2017)
    • “World A Reggae” and “The Art of Reggae” exhibitions by the International Reggae Poster Contest in Jamaica, Athens and Thessaloniki Greece, Mexico, Washington, Spain and Cuba.
  • (2013)
    • “Innovation for Education” exhibition in Turkey
  • (2014)
    • “Nelson Poster Project” in Cape Town and Johannesburg, South Africa and other international cities
    • “Nelson Mandela Children’s Hospital” a Permanent Exhibition in Johannesburg, South Africa
    • “Jazz wRuinach” in Poland at the 10th International Jazz Festival
  • (2015)
    • “ε/Design your Expression” in Greece curated by Toolkit Startup
    • “W|Design for life” Breast Cancer Awareness in Greece curated by Toolkit Startup
    • “1st International Poster Festival of Shenzhen Exhibition” in China by Li Xu
    • “Right to Decide” exhibition at AEIVA Gallery, by Posters Without borders
  • (2016)
    • “BikeArt” in Athens, Greece
  • (2016 – 2019)
    • “Women’s Rights Are Human Rights” exhibition, curated by Elizabeth Resnick and exhibited in Taiwan, Mexico, Poland, Greece, San Marino, Spain, Scotland, USA Pennsylvania; New Jersey; Ohio; Illinois; Chicago; Boston and Korea until today.
  • (2017)
    • “BoobsArt” curated by FactorySeeds in Belgium
    • “Action / Re-action / Interaction” exhibition at BICEBÉ exhibition in Bolivia, by Posters Without borders
    • “100 posters for Crete” exhibition in Crete, Greece
    • “Sing me a song” exhibition in Cyprus, by World Graphic Designers
  • (2018)
    • “Transition” exhibition by Autopsia Colectiva, Galería AP, Mexico
    • “Cultural Heritage” exhibition by World Graphic Designers, Jakarta, Indonesia
    • “GMO-Free=Green+You” exhibition by Green Plus You, Korea Design Center, Hall (B1) Gallery, South Korea
    • “1st Medical Cannabis Intl. Invitational Poster Exhibition” curated by Maria Papaefstathiou, Athens Greece
  • (2019)
    • “30 years since the revolution of December 1989”, Roar 5.0 Exhibition of Social and Political Posters organized by Atelierul DeGrafica and Ciprian N. Isac in Bucharest, Romania
    • “Day of the Dead” exhibition by Autopsia Colectiva, Galería AP, Mexico
    • “World Peace” Intl. exhibition organized by Gabriel Benderski, Spain
  • (2020)
    • «The warmth of the city» Zhengjiang City Biennale
    • COVID19, Poster exhibition in Iran
    • Autopsia Colectiva – Diseño “CalaCarteles” 6, in Mexico
  • (2021)
    • “Design and Finding Hope” Poster exhibition in Seoul
    • WOODSTOCK, PIECE OF MY HEART, poster exhibition in Bolivia organized by BICM expo
    • “Women’s Rights Are Human Rights: International Posters on Gender-based Inequality, Violence, and Discrimination” in California USA
    • “Connecting Minds, Creating the Future” Emirates International Poster Festival (EIPF) in Dubai
    • “Not A Fairy Tale” poster invitational event in Ecuador
    • Autopsia Colectiva – Diseño “CalaCarteles” 7, in Mexico

Interviews: