ArtCenter’s OUTSIDEIN exhibition, on display at both campuses through January 10, 2016, was inspired in part by the mural Keith Haring painted at the College’s Hillside Campus in 1989, commemorating the World Health Organization’s second annual AIDS Awareness Day. That piece, which took two days to paint, was Haring’s last completed work. Three months later he died of AIDS.

To commemorate Haring’s legacy as well today’s celebration of the 28th anniversary of AIDS Awareness Day, the above video traces the origins of ArtCenter’s longstanding relationship to street art and the insurgent role graffiti-based street murals have played in embedding social and political messages in an emerging, evolving and now mainstream form of creative expression. Combining in-depth artist interviews and time-lapse footage of their creative process, this piece provides a rare glimpse inside the creative process, connecting the dots between the legacy of this subversive art form to its current role as an arbiter of pop culture aesthetics and an access point for popular engagement with the arts.

The connection between street art, illustration and design are evidenced by the dynamic relationships artists are now forging with brands such as Prada, Marni, NIKE, Pepsi, Stussy and Christian Dior. Artwork is now driving the design of clothing and accessories, morphing into immersive retail environments and creating unforgettable advertising campaigns.

In the manner of Keith Haring and his POPSHOP, many of these artists are notorious, are already producing their own merchandise and designers have noticed, seeking them out because the quality of their work and its ability to connect to the emotional heart of a generation who, like them, sees no boundary between art and commerce.