Shrimp Fest poster artist denies plagiarizing design

Shrimp Fest poster artist denies plagiarizing design

The Gulf Shores artist whose work was selected and then rebuked as the winning entry for the 2025 National Shrimp Festival poster, said his work was art appropriation, not plagiarism.
The Shrimp Fest pulled Swiger’s winning design after concerns surfaced over similarities to a poster for the 2024 Hurley Pro Sunset Beach surf competition in Hawaii, a major event on the World Surf League World Tour.
That poster was created by Hawaiian artist Sara Saffery, who told WKRG News 5 that she was shocked to see the similarities, but she was even more surprised that people recognized her work and reached out. She said the support has been overwhelming, but added that she’s still processing everything and is left feeling violated, according to reporting from Summer Poole and Taylor Boysen.
“After speaking with the artist and an in-depth discussion with the Shrimp Fest committee the decision was made to choose a different submission for this year’s poster,” the festival committee posted.
Swiger, while also defending his artistic integrity, said he would rather not put the host Coastal Alabama Business Chamber of the fest committee in a difficult position.
“At no point did I intend the new design to be misinterpreted as a copy, nor did I ever try to pass the original art off as my own or hide the origin of the design,” said Swiger on his Facebook page. “In fact, when I made the post about winning the contest, I received compliments from other people who recognized the allusion to the Hurley poster.”
Swiger, who grew up surfing and skinboarding on Gulf Shores beaches, beat out 26 other entries with his hand-painted acrylic art that was inspired by surf culture, not a digital copy of another poster.
“The relationship between my poster and the Hurley poster was completely intentional with numerous altered and added elements to creatively capture the essence of our local Shrimp Fest – art, food, music, beach imagery, etc.,” he said.
Swiger said his work utilized the original work as a reference or starting point. He adds or subtracts different elements to create a new piece or message. Plagiarized work involves no alteration or claiming the originally referenced artwork as your own, he said.
“My intentions have always been 100% pure and genuine, and I never intended to wrong anyone, nor did I ever expect the piece to attract any negative attention,” he added.
A new design has already been selected and will don posters, huggies and t-shirts at the fest scheduled Oct. 9-12 at the Gulf Shores Public Beach.
Swiger’s design was selected from entries submitted by artists from Alabama, Florida, Louisiana, Mississippi, Indiana, New Jersey, New York and Wisconsin.