10 Art and Design Calendars to Help You Plan for an Uncertain 2017
From radical diaries to cosmic chronicles, here are 10 art and design calendars to plan for the upcoming year of 2017.
Somehow, the long, laborious trail that was 2016 will soon wind to a close. How will you keep track of all your commitments in the brave new world that is 2017? Sure, digital calendars are great, being mobile and all, but there are some beautifully designed analogue calendars out there to better organize your next 12 months on this strange, scary, and sometimes wondrous planet.
NYC Art Handlers Calendar
For its third edition, the NYC Art Handlers Calendar has dropped its beefcake past of bared skin and glamorous nitrile gloves for a classier look. The black-and-white photographs by fashion photographer Max Bernetz and art director Hans Maharawal emphasize “the aesthetics of work, revealing what remains unseen on the job.” In other words, less chest hair, more seductive art adjusting. And most of the proceeds go to the Bowery Mission, Sangsangai for Nepal earthquake relief, and Planned Parenthood. [Etsy, $15]
Freedom for Political Prisoners Calendar
Looking ahead, we can be sure that 2017 is going to be a long battle for activists against the shadow of regressive, oppressive politics. The Certain Days: 2017 Freedom for Political Prisoners Calendar from the Certain Days collective is themed around “Sustaining Movements,” including 36 pages of art and writing that consider lessons from the past and how to sustain momentum in the future. [Justseeds, $12]
Ryan McGinness To-Do List Calendar Pad
Are you the kind of person who makes a list each morning, perhaps what to get at the grocery store or reasons to live? The 2017 To Do List Calendar Pad by artist Ryan McGinness offers 365 days of gridded space for your words. Each has a small illustration at the top, featuring messages like “Free Parking” and “None of this is real.” [Gingko Press, $24.95]
Tiny Showcase Lunar Calendar
Tiny Showcase, which weekly releases limited edition art, also hosts an annual lunar calendar, and the 2017 edition designed by Nate Duval is especially luminous. All 365 phases of the moon are included in the screen print, which is accented with glow-in-the-dark and sparkle overprints, so no matter the time of the day the illustrated moons glow. [Tiny Showcase, $25]
Verso Radical Diary
Created by “the largest independent, radical publishing house in the English speaking world,” the Verso Radical Diary is a compact planner that includes dates from radical history rather than holidays. The text ranges from ancient events like Spartacus, to slave rebellions and more recent Occupy actions, as well as highlighting the lives of figures like Rosa Luxemburg and Gil Scott Heron. [Verso, $19.95]
Park Calendar
With the Park Calendar you can assemble a duck, a dog, a bench, a tree, a … clock tower? Just like your neighborhood park! The design by the Japan-based Good Morning includes two months on each of the six papercraft objects, which can offer a bit of outdoor harmony on your desk. [Walker Shop, $28]
Anaptár
For people with a lot of wall space and appreciation for elegant data visualization, the poster-size Anaptár calendar by Anna Farkas with the Hungary-based Anagraphic charts data for lunar phases, sunrises, constellations, and other cosmic information. Each is customized for a different city, from New York to Tokyo to Budapest. [Anagraphic, €35.43 ($38)]
Bread & Puppet Calendar
For the 32nd (!) edition of the Bread & Puppet Calendar, the annual print project of the radical puppet theater company, the theme is “WHATFORWARD.” As the trio behind it — Peter Schumann, Lila Winstead, and Elka Schumann — put it, it’s the collaborative product of “chisel & masonite, printer’s ink & roller, magic marker, ruler & ball point pen.” [Bread and Puppet, $16]
DodeCal
On the more extravagant side, as it’s an object with a year lifespan, the DodeCal is an expertly crafted polyhedra calendar (the name is short for “dodecahedron calendar”). It’s made from sustainable European sycamore, and perhaps could find a 2018 reuse by a creative D&D Dungeon Master or just as a handsome paperweight. [DodeCal, £79 ($100)]
Carpe Diem Wall Calendar
Finally, what better way to be reminded of the passage of time than to see the year visually disappearing, day by day? The Carpe Diem Wall Calendar by Spanish designer Oscar Diaz has tear-off squares for each day, until you reach the end. [MCA Store, $21.95]
