About This Stamp
Life is filled with so many applause-worthy moments. This Celebrate stamp vividly acknowledges a host of special occasions, from birthdays and anniversaries, to engagements, weddings, new jobs, and retirements.
The stamp art features the word “CELEBRATE” in tall white block letters, surrounded by a pattern of lines and dots in pink, magenta, orange, yellow, and purple. In smaller white type, the word “FOREVER” appears at the bottom left, with “USA” at the bottom right.
Working on the Celebrate stamp project carried deep personal significance for artist Jason Gottlieb. “My grandfather, William P. Gottlieb, was a jazz photographer in the late 1930s and ’40s, and his images actually became the basis for four U.S. commemorative postage stamps released in 1994, featuring Billie Holiday, Charlie Parker, Mildred Bailey, and Jimmy Rushing,” says Gottlieb.
“It is an extraordinary legacy to be a part of. In a very real sense, I grew up understanding that stamps could carry culture, history, and meaning. In a world that can often feel overwhelming,” the artist adds, “it's important to remember that small acts of celebration can have a profound effect.”
Gottlieb, who co-designed the stamp with art director Antonio Alcalá, created the artwork by applying dense layers of solid and dotted colored lines around the illustrative typography.
Celebrate (2027) is being issued as a Forever® stamp. This Forever stamp will always be equal to the current First-Class Mail® one-ounce price.
Stamp Art Director, Stamp Designer
Antonio Alcalá
Antonio Alcalá served on the Postmaster General’s Citizens' Stamp Advisory Committee from 2010 until 2011, when he left to become an art director for the U.S. Postal Service's stamp development program.
He is founder and co-owner of Studio A, a design practice working with museums and arts institutions. His clients include: the National Gallery of Art, Library of Congress, National Portrait Gallery, National Museum of Women in the Arts, The Phillips Collection, and Smithsonian Institution. He also lectures at colleges including the Corcoran College of Art + Design, SVA, Pratt, and MICA.
In 2008, his work and contributions to the field of graphic design were recognized with his selection as an AIGA Fellow. He has judged international competitions for the Society of Illustrators, American Illustration, AIGA, and Graphis. Alcalá also serves on the Smithsonian National Postal Museum and Poster House Museum’s advisory councils. His designs are represented in the AIGA Design Archives, the National Postal Museum, and the Library of Congress Permanent Collection of Graphic Design.
Alcalá graduated from Yale University with a BA in history and from the Yale School of Art with an MFA in graphic design. He lives with his wife in Alexandria, Virginia.
Stamp Designer, Stamp Artist
Jason Gottlieb
Jason Gottlieb is a multidisciplinary artist, designer, and educator whose work spans traditional design and illustration to experimental film, motion graphics, game development, and AI-assisted creativity. His art explores the full spectrum of the human experience, pairing vibrant aesthetics with challenging subjects.
Coming from a family deeply rooted in narrative photography, Gottlieb knew from an early age that visual art was where he shone. Throughout his childhood, he worked as a model and assistant to his father, a commercial photographer. Gottlieb’s grandfather was also a celebrated jazz photographer whose images from the late 1930s and ’40s documented the golden era of American jazz.
After attending the North Carolina School of the Arts in Winston-Salem, Gottlieb graduated from the Corcoran College of Art and Design in Washington, D.C., with a focus on Digital Media. He also earned an M.F.A. in Graphic Design from the Maryland Institute College of Art (MICA), in Baltimore, Maryland, where he currently works as a professor of Graphic Design.
Gottlieb has exhibited his work at the Video Art & Experimental Film Festival in New York, the Herman Maril Gallery at the University of Maryland in College Park, MICA, the Corcoran Gallery of Art, and numerous juried exhibitions across the United States.
In addition to receiving MICA's Bunting Fellowship in 2014, Gottlieb’s art has been recognized by Adobe, Communication Arts, Print, the American Institute of Graphic Arts, Graphis, and the Art Directors Club of Metropolitan Washington. His debut experimental short film SHAME has earned numerous accolades including Best AI Film at international film festivals in Spain and Brazil.
His many clients include the Smithsonian Institution; Ocean Conservancy; Coca-Cola; the Cooper Hewitt, Smithsonian Design Museum; World Wildlife Fund; National Geographic; and Hasbro.
Gottlieb works from his home studio in the Federal Hill neighborhood of Baltimore.
Celebrate (2027) is his first project for the U.S. Postal Service.