Empowering a Jewish Renaissance Through Thermal Printing

The Hatkvah Sticker Collective gathers artists who emerged from international online Jewish spaces as a direct response to the Jewish national catastrophe of October 7th. Inspired by the Kidnapped Poster Campaign, which first placed street art directly in the hands of the worldwide Jewish public, the collective draws influence from the early Bezalel School—the first Zionist art academy—and contemporary street art movements.

The Hatikvah Collective’s defining monochrome aesthetic is shaped and inspired by the inherent limitations of thermal printing, a new medium that has revolutionized mass sticker production. Far from being a constraint, the black-and-white format has become the hallmark of the collective’s visual identity. The rise of direct thermal printing—a technology traditionally used for shipping labels—has opened new possibilities for public messaging, allowing for the rapid, low-cost DIY production of stickers. Unlike traditional sticker printing, which is often cost-prohibitive, thermal printing makes large-scale street art accessible to anyone. As one HaTikvah artist put it:

“people with 100 dollars to purchase a printer and 1,000 labels can completely change their neighborhood for the better”

The Hatikvah Collective is a global movement, with international branches across the United States, Israel, Canada, Spain, Denmark, and the UK. Through this new form of mass-produced Jewish street art, the collective is not just reshaping public spaces—it is forging a new kind of Jewish public citizen, one who asserts their presence, refuses erasure, and understands that art itself is an act of resistance.

The HaTikvah Collective more than an art movement—in a world awash with antisemitic rhetoric, we put out a call to reclaim Jewish presence in public spaces. Anyone with a thermal printer and a vision can contribute. Our sticker library is open-source and growing. Print, post, and participate—because Jewish presence is not a given, it is made.