We’re excited to have Richmond artist Christian Taylor create this year’s Richmond Folk Festival poster! Christian joins an esteemed group of artists that includes Wes Freed, Mickael Broth, Katie McBride, Chris Milk, Cassandra Kim, and Hamilton Glass and many more.
We thought we’d ask Christian some questions to learn more about his background and process!
Tell us a little bit about you and your background. Are you from Richmond?
Actually no, I’m from a smaller county east of Fredericksburg called King George County. And there I grew up in the woods and right off the water. And all of my formal education in art is actually in doing scenic design for theatre. I received my BFA from Longwood University and my MFA from The University of Missouri-Kansas City.
Funny enough I sort of fell into graphic design and illustration by accident. While wrapping up my masters degree, I started making posters for fake bands I’d come up with and eventually a friend clued me in that what I was doing was actually called graphic design. And ever since then I really haven’t looked back and couldn’t be more happy.
Have you attended the Festival before? any good memories or thoughts about it?
I’ve attended every Folk Festival ever since 2022. And every year that I’ve gone I’ve had such an amazing time. I especially love how Richmond consistently shows up as a community, and supports culture and arts of all kinds.
What was your inspiration/thought process for the design?
Honestly my process for the design this year was sort of a long one. Because I wanted the design to be a multitude of things. From being a love letter to Richmond, to creating a whimsical folk world, to even illustrating the feeling that I feel when I listen to music. But eventually after going through a few concepts, the idea for this years design came to me all at once. And the core idea was a flying circus that’s headed to help make the festival happen and sort of be the ‘magic’ that courses throughout the weekend. And within that framework I created a series of homages to Richmond, like the arches from the CSX- A line bridge, dogs sitting in a row boat, turrets from the Altria theatre, and lastly Francine sleeping atop a cloud. And really I just hope that I captured the spirit of Richmond In a decent way and I’ll make be able to make people crack a smile every time they discover a new detail in the design.
What are some of your favorite things to do in Richmond?
There’s such a long list of things I enjoy doing in Richmond, but a short list would probably consist of: going to the VMFA, meeting new friends from all walks of life, riding my motorcycle, discovering new local places to shop and eat at, and lastly being able to be immersed in a culturally rich city but also being able to also quickly find silent corners where I can take a beat and reflect on things.
Anything else you would like to share?
It’s been a big goal of mine to do a Richmond Folk Festival Poster since I’ve moved here in 2021, and without sounding overly cliche, being able to this years poster really feels like a dream coming true.
Check out more of Christian’s work at christianmtaylor.com and on Instagram (@christian.m.taylor)
The 2026 Official Richmond Folk Festival Poster will be available for sale during the festival (October 9-11) at Plan 9 CDs and Merchandise tents. After the festival, they will be available at Plan9 Music in Carytown.