The 2011 Alex Cohn Explore Grant has been awarded to Ben Logan ’12 to pursue his interest in street art. Named in memory of Alex Cohn ’07 and made possible by members of the Kaplan and Cohn families, the Alex Cohn Explore Grant is awarded to a rising junior or senior for an experiential, hands-on program or course of study to explore a passion for a particular topic or activity outside of school.

Ben will use the grant to reconstruct five murals by the artist Shepard Fairey, best known for his Barak Obama “Hope” poster and his “Obey” prints. Over time, Fairey’s murals have aged to the point where they need a major overhaul. Working from prints provided by Fairey, Ben will design and lay out new murals to replace the old ones at sites around Boston. Assisting him with the project will be a crew of art colleagues and artists from Boston’s Institute of Contemporary Art.

Ben has always been interested in art and graffiti, but Fairey inspired his passion for street art. Last summer, Ben had the opportunity to work with Fairey and other artists as part of an internship in California. After he completes the grant work, Ben will embark on his biggest project: creating an original mural for the Epiphany School in Dorchester.

This fall, the Beaver community will have the chance to hear about Ben’s work at a Tuesday Forum and see an exhibit of his street art in the Nancy Lincoln Gallery.