For Freedoms, the political action committee co-founded by artist Hank Willis Thomas, unveiled today the artists in its landmark “50 State Initiative.” More than 300 artists, including J.R., Marilyn Minter, Rashid Johnson, Tania Bruguera, and Theaster Gates have designed billboards that encourage political participation, and which will be erected in each of America’s 50 states ahead of the November midterm congressional elections.
“The ‘50 State Initiative’ can change the political landscape by inspiring more people to participate in civic life and broadening the concept of what democratic participation looks like,” the project’s producer, Miriam Fogelson, told artnet News.
Sanford Biggers, Just Us (West Virginia). Photo courtesy of For Freedoms.
Artists were free to depict whatever they wanted on their billboards, according to For Freedoms co-founder Eric Gottesman. “We built For Freedoms as a platform for these artists’ voices,” he said. “There were no guidelines as the basis of this project is embracing artists’ creativity as a means of inspiring civic dialogue and participation—it’s about what they had to say.”
To realize the hugely ambitious project, For Freedoms partnered with more than 200 American art organizations, from grassroots art centers to major museums, and even international groups. The organization tried “to match the artist’s vision and message to location and issue,” said For Freedoms political advisor Mark Skidmore in an email. For example, Muslim artist Jamila El Sahili’s billboard, Human Being, is going up in Lansing, Michigan, where the first Muslim woman could be elected to congress.
Skidmore says that the organization isn’t affiliated with either political party, and in fact describes itself as “anti-partisan.” But although the current political landscape remains one of the most partisan eras in American political history, Fogelson hopes the initiative succeeds by taking an less common approach. “For Freedoms aims to make civic engagement more inclusive of people who have felt excluded from, or disinterested in, traditional political processes,” she said.
Paula Crown, Thoughts and Prayer (Wyoming). Photo courtesy of For Freedom.
See the full list of artist billboards by state below:
ARIZONA
JR, Migrants, Mayra, Picnic across the border, Tecate, Mexico – U.S.A., 2017
I-10 & Vicksburg Rd, Phoenix
ARKANSAS
Zoë Buckman, Inaction is Apathy
S Walton Blvd & SW 12th St, Bentonville
ARKANSAS
Marilyn Minter, SAD
US 70 & N Alexander Rd, Little Rock
CALIFORNIA
Paula Crown, Hurt People Hurt People
Crenshaw Blvd & W 59th Pl, Los Angeles
CALIFORNIA
Rashid Johnson, Untitled Anxious Men
S La Brea Ave & W 1st St, Los Angeles
COLORADO
Susan Meiselas, 2:00 a.m. Arrest and documentation of twelve-year-old boy, Imperial Beach, CA, 1989
Federal Blvd & W Irving Pl, Denver
CONNECTICUT
Trevor Paglen, Nov 6th, 2018.
US-6 & Pope Park Hwy, Hartford
DELAWARE
Ken Gonzales Day, Untitled, 2011, featuring Bust of A Young Man, Antico (Pier Jacopo Alari-Bonacolsi), and Bust of a Man, Francis Harwood
Old Airport Rd & Delaware Turnpike, Wilmington
DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA
Edgar Arceneaux, Hopelessness Freeze Time
Anderson, Letts, and McCabe Halls at the American University, Washington
FLORIDA
Derrick Adams, Ode to Bayard Rustin
NW 79th St & NW 5th Ave, Miami
FLORIDA
Carrie Mae Weems, Continue to Dream
Pérez Art Museum Miami, Miami
FLORIDA
Trevor Paglen, Nov 6th, 2018
Pérez Art Museum Miami, Miami
FLORIDA
Stuart Sheldon, The Best Words
Student Union / Bookstore, Florida International University, Miami
FLORIDA
Stuart Sheldon, The Best Words
US Century Bank Area, Florida International University, Miami
FLORIDA
Jamila El Sahili, I Love You
Teaching Academy / Welcome Center, University of Central Florida, Orlando
FLORIDA
Jamila El Sahili, I Love You
Health Center, University of Central Florida, Orlando
FLORIDA
Carrie Mae Weems, Continue to Dream
The Ringling Museum, Sarasota
FLORIDA
Shaun Leonardo, Trayvon Martin
W Tennessee St & Aster Lake Blvd, Tallahassee
GEORGIA
Awol Erizku, Make America Panther Again
I-85 & E 10th St, Atlanta
IDAHO
Emily Hanako Momohara, Family Incarceration: Never Again is Now
HWY 20 & E Gowen Rd, Boise
ILLINOIS
Paula Crown, Thoughts & Prayers
W Jackson Blvd & S Jefferson St, Chicago
ILLINOIS
Paula Crown, Thoughts & Prayers
E Illinois S & N State St, Chicago
ILLINOIS
Cheryl Pope, Lines Can’t Be Drawn In The Middle
Student Center East, University of Illinois Chicago, Chicago
ILLINOIS
Cheryl Pope, Lines Can’t Be Drawn In The Middle
University Hall, University of Illinois Chicago, Chicago
ILLINOIS
Wendy Ewald, Christian
W Eldorado St & N Fairview Ave, Decatur
ILLINOIS
Tomashi Jackson, Alteronce in Hannah (Oliver Brown, et al. v. Board of Education of Topeka, et al.)
Illinois St & North Street, Normal
INDIANA
Theaster Gates, Where Black Power Lives
Indiana Toll Rd & Calumet Ave, Gary
INDIANA
Jesse Williams, That’s All Folks!
Pendleton Pike & Geneva Ave, Indianapolis
IOWA
For Freedoms, Four Freedoms
IA-28 & SW Leland Ave, Des Moines
KANSAS
For Freedoms, Four Freedoms
KS-4 & SW Topeka Blvd, Topeka
KENTUCKY
Donald Moffett, Think Science
New Circle Rd & Georgetown St, Lexington
KENTUCKY
Ebony G. Patterson, untitled ( …he was 12)
167 W. Main Street, Lexington
KENTUCKY
Titus Kaphar, Behind the Myth of Benevolence
Dr. Martin Luther King Jr Expy & Preston Hwy, Louisville
LOUISIANA
For Freedoms, Four Freedoms
Hwy 90 & Seven Oaks Blvd, New Orleans
MAINE
Christopher Myers, Mayflowers
Center for Maine Contemporary Art, Rockland
MARYLAND
Shinique Smith, Portrait of Shinique as a Bundle on Rodeo Beach (3 Months Before Cosco Oil Spill), 2007
Coppin State University, Baltimore
MARYLAND
Natalie White, Equal Means Equal
Mt Savage Rd NW & Homewood St NW, Cumberland
MASSACHUSETTS
David Birkin and Mariam Ghani, System Failure
Location Pending, Boston
MASSACHUSETTS
Vincent Valdez, Dream Baby Dream
MASS MoCA, North Adams
MASSACHUSETTS
Lorraine O’Grady, Come Out, Come Out, Wherever You Are
I-91 & Plainfield St, Springfield
MICHIGAN
Sam Durant, Poder
Cass & Amsterdam NW, Detroit
MICHIGAN
Jamila El Sahili, Human Being
Lansing Rd & Pinch Hwy, Lansing
MINNESOTA
Michael Rakowitz, Ahlan Wa Sahlan
I-94 & Co Rd 186, St Paul
MISSISSIPPI
Jessica Ingram, Vote for Vernon Dahmer, 2018
Hwy 220 & Medgar Evers Blvd, Jackson
MISSOURI
Christine Sun Kim, Words Shape Reality
Hwy 54 & Jefferson Rd, Jefferson City
MISSOURI
Jeremy Dean, InDivisible
Hwy 35 & Terrace St, St. Louis
MISSOURI
Jeremy Dean, Hummer Stagecoach
Hwy 35 & Terrace St, St. Louis
MONTANA
Fred Tomaselli, I’ve Fallen
Hwy 15 & Pinecrest Rd, Helena
NEBRASKA
Jim Goldberg, It’s Mourning In America
Cornhusker Hwy & N 48th St, Lincoln
NEVADA
Cristina Velazquez, No Soy Tu Mamacita
W Charleston Blvd & S Decatur Blvd, Las Vegas
NEW HAMPSHIRE
Paola Mendoza and Kisha Bari, I Am A Child
N Main St & Ten Rod Rd, Rochester
NEW JERSEY
William Scott and David Byrne, Untitled
Bloomfield Ave & N 12th St, Newark
NEW JERSEY
AFRICA’SOUT!
US Hwy 1 & Muirhead Ave, Trenton
NEW MEXICO
Richard Misrach, Romans 13:10
CanAM Hwy & El Suspiro Ct, Las Cruces
NEW YORK
Suzanne Lacy, ONE/US
Crosstown Connection & Albany St, Albany
NEW YORK
Carrie Mae Weems, One Choice
E Brighton Ave & Ainsley Dr, Syracuse
NEW YORK
Eric Gottesman, Where Do We Go From Here?
E Brighton Ave & Ainsley Dr, Syracuse
NEW YORK
Hank Willis Thomas, Us Is Them
E Brighton Ave & Ainsley Dr, Syracuse
NEW YORK
Lightwork, Be Strong And Do Not Betray Your Soul
E Brighton Ave & Ainsley Dr, Syracuse
NEW YORK
Zoe Buckman, Grab Em By The Ballots
E Brighton Ave & Ainsley Dr, Syracuse
NORTH CAROLINA
Stacey L. Kirby, Yo Soy Válida
Durham Fwy & Ellis Rd, Durham
NORTH CAROLINA
Jeffrey Gibson, THIS STORY HASN’T BEEN WRITTEN YET
I-95 & Red Oak Brattleboro Rd, Raleigh
NORTH CAROLINA
Muna Malik, Exodus 22:21
Auxillary Services Parking Lot 16, UNC Charlotte, Charlotte
NORTH CAROLINA
Travis Somerville, Nevermind, 2016
Bluford St. Campus Rec. Center, NC AT&T State University, Greensboro
NORTH CAROLINA
Travis Somerville, Nevermind, 2016
Laurel St and E. Market St, NC AT&T State University, Greensboro
NORTH DAKOTA
Prune Nourry, << River Man >>
Rotating through several billboards in the city, Fargo
OHIO
Emily Hanako Momohara, Child Imprisonment: Never Again is Now
I-75 & Vine St, Cincinnati
OHIO
Michelangelo Lovelace, Glory
Dublin Rd & Grandview Ave, Columbus
OKLAHOMA
Guerrilla Girls , Dear Boss, No Wonder You Don’t Pay Us A Living Wage
US 77 & NW 59th St, Oklahoma City
OKLAHOMA
Justin Brice Guariglia, We Are The Asteroid
I-40 & S May Ave, Oklahoma City
OREGON
Carrie Mae Weems, To Dream
Portland Art Museum, Portland
OREGON
Trevor Paglen, Nov 6th, 2018
1219 SW Park Ave, Portland
OREGON
Emily Jacir, Translate Allah
Lancaster Dr SE & State St, Salem
PENNSYLVANIA
Mitch Epstein, The Common Air
I-83 & S Front St, Harrisburg
PENNSYLVANIA
Anonymous, Me Pardon Me
I-96 & Linden Ave, Philadelphia
PENNSYLVANIA
Anonymous, Pardon Me
I-95 & Linden Ave, Philadelphia
RHODE ISLAND
Tuan Nguyen, Not Spaceship Earth
I-95 & Concord St, Providence
SOUTH CAROLINA
Dustin Yellin, HERE COMES THE SEA…Anthropogenic Climate Change and the future of our species
St Andrews Rd & Piney Grove Rd, Columbia
SOUTH DAKOTA
Xaviera Simmons, Freedom Is Not Guaranteed (TBC)
8th Ave NE, Aberdeen
SOUTH DAKOTA
Xaviera Simmons, Freedom Is Not Guaranteed (TBC)
8th Ave NE & N Roosevelt St, Aberdeen
SOUTH DAKOTA
Sol Guy, We Are All Related
I-90 & Sidney Stage Rd, Pierre/Rapid City
TENNESSEE
Ahron Weiner, Buttheads
8th Street, Austin Peay State University, Clarksville
TENNESSEE
Ahron Weiner, Buttheads
West Ave & Hand Village Ave, Austin Peay State University, Clarksville
TENNESSEE
Sadie Barnette, Some Space
Gallatin Pike S & E Due W Ave, Nashville
TENNESSEE
Hank Willis Thomas, Love Over Rules
I-24 & Cowan St, Nashville
TEXAS
Alfredo Jaar, A Logo For America
N Interstate 35 Frontage Rd & Sonterra Blvd, Austin
UTAH
Richard Renaldi, Who Are We
S Shurtz Canyon Dr, Cedar City
Vermont
Luis Jacob, Land Acknowledgement
VCFA
East State and West Streets
VIRGINIA
Joy Sela, We Mirror
Hampton Roads Dorm, George Mason University, Fairfax
VIRGINIA
Joy Sela, We Mirror
Eastern Shore Dorm, George Mason University, Fairfax
VIRGINIA
Equal Justice Initiative, Presence of Justice
I-95 & Bellemeade Rd, Richmond
WASHINGTON
Wyatt Gallery, An Expensive Hoax
Martin Way E & Chehalis Western Trail, Olympia
WEST VIRGINIA
Sanford Biggers, Just Us
MacCorkle Ave SE & West Virginia Turnpike, Charleston
WISCONSIN
Gordon Parks, I Am You
Beltline Hwy & Marsh Rd, Madison
WYOMING
Paula Crown, Thoughts & Prayers
Interstate 80 Service Rd & E Pershing Blvd, Cheyenne