Artist-Led Campaign "50 State Initiative" Inspires Nationwide Civic Engagement Around Midterm Elections with Powerful Network and Daily Activations 

For Freedoms, a collective of artists, institutions, organizations, and people across the country who are experimenting with new and innovative pathways to civic participation, announced the locations and artists for over 150 billboards as part of the 50 State Initiative, the largest public art project in U.S. history. Billboards are now on view in all fifty states, with more going up weekly. Full list below.

With less than a month until the November 6 midterm elections, the artist billboards join the For Freedoms collaboration between over 300 artists and 200 museums, universities, and cultural centers in critical daily activations across the nation. Free and open to the public, these artworks and events include artist-designed billboards, exhibitions, lawn signs, and local community dialogues in all 50 states, the District of Columbia, and Puerto Rico. Visit forfreedoms.org to find upcoming events in your city and state. 

“One major problem we confront is the binary nature of arguments on political issues. We are not for or against. We are for everything in between,” says Mark Skidmore, For Freedoms Political Advisor. “For Freedoms is trying to grapple with the problem of exclusion and exclusivity. We believe art is a civic catalyst. That means we are welcoming, inclusive, and open to all, and believe everyone should have an equal seat at the table.”

ARTIST BILLBOARD LOCATIONS

ALASKA
Justin Brice Guariglia, We Are The Asteroid
The Anchorage Museum, 625 C St, Anchorage

ALABAMA
Eric Gottesman, The American Way
380 Arba St, Montgomery

Jim Ricks, In Search Of The Truth
Location Pending, Montgomery

ARIZONA
JR, Migrants, Mayra, Picnic across the border, Tecate, Mexico - U.S.A., 2017
I-10 & Vicksburg Rd, Phoenix

Richard Mosse, Incoming
Location Pending, Phoenix

ARKANSAS
Marilyn Minter, SAD
US 70 & N Alexander Rd, Little Rock

Mike Mandel and Larry Sultan, Whose News
10825 Kanis Rd A, Little Rock

Zoë Buckman, Inaction is Apathy
S Walton Blvd & SW 12th St, Bentonville
In Collaboration With 21c Museum Hotels

CALIFORNIA
Hank Willis Thomas, Cotton Bowl
Third Street and Caesar Chavez, San Francisco 
In Collaboration With Imprint City

Paula Crown, Hurt People Hurt People
Crenshaw Blvd & W 59th Pl, Los Angeles

Rashid Johnson, Untitled Anxious Men
Undefeated, S La Brea Ave & W 1st St, Los Angeles

William Scott, Untitled
Third Street and Caesar Chavez, Bayview
In Collaboration With Imprint City

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
Mequitta Ahuja, LOOP
Location Pending, Hartford

Trevor Paglen, Nov 6
US-6 & Pope Park Hwy, Hartford

DELAWARE
Deborah Kass, Vote! Your Life Depends On It
I-95 North, 1m North of Chapel, Wilmington
Courtesy of the Artist and pulp, ink

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 

Ronald Rael & Virginia San Fratello, Reunite
I-95 North, 1m North of Chapel, Wilmington

DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA 
Edgar Arceneaux, Hopelessness Freeze Time
Cook Hall at the American University, Washington

Zoë Buckman and Natalie Frank, Untitled
Corcoran Gallery of Art, 500 17th St NW, Washington

FLORIDA
Carrie Mae Weems, To Dream
The John and Mable Ringling Museum of Art at Florida State University, Sarasota

Derrick Adams, Ode to Bayard Rustin
NW 79th St & NW 5th Ave, Miami
In Collaboration With 21c Museum Hotels

Jamila El Sahili, I Love You
University of Central Florida, Orlando

Shaun Leonardo, Trayvon Martin
W Tennessee St & Aster Lake Blvd, Tallahassee

Stuart Sheldon, The Best Words
Florida International University, Miami

GEORGIA
Awol Erizku, Make America Panther Again
I-85 & E 10th St, Atlanta

HAWAII
Imaikalini Kalahele and Cory Taum, Ula Leo
32 N Hotel St, Honolulu
In Collaboration With Axis Chinatown

IDAHO
Emily Hanako Momohara, Family Incarceration: Never Again is Now
HWY 20 & E Gowen Rd, Boise

ILLINOIS
Cheryl Pope, Lines Can't Be Drawn In The Middle
University of Illinois Chicago, Chicago

Katherine Gilmore, They Call Us A Storm
Location Pending, Decatur

Paula Crown, Thoughts & Prayers
W Jackson Blvd & S Jefferson St, Chicago
E Illinois S & N State S, Chicago 
In Collaboration With 21c Museum Hotels

Tomashi Jackson, Alteronce in Hannah (Oliver Brown, et al. v. Board of Education of Topeka, et al.)
Illinois State University, Normal

Wendy Ewald, Christian
W Eldorado St & N Fairview Ave, Decatur

INDIANA
Alfredo Jaar, A Logo For America
Location Pending, Gary

Jesse Williams, That’s All Folks! 
US-36 & N Post Rd, Indianapolis 

Theaster Gates, Where Black Power Lives
Indiana Toll Rd & Calumet Ave, Gary

IOWA
Kambui Olujimi, Consensus of Silence
3801 Merle Hay Rd, Des Moines

For Freedoms, Four Freedoms
IA-28 & SW Leland Ave, Des Moines

KANSAS
Jeremy Dean, Hummer Stagecoach
Hwy 35 & Terrace St, Kansas City
In Collaboration With 21c Museum Hotels

Jeremy Dean, InDivisible
Hwy 35 & Terrace St, Kansas City
In Collaboration With 21c Museum Hotels

For Freedoms, Four Freedoms
KS-4 & SW Topeka Blvd, Topeka

KENTUCKY
Donald Moffett, Think Science
New Circle Rd & Georgetown St, Lexington

Ebony G. Patterson, untitled ( ...he was 12)
167 W. Main Street, Lexington
In Collaboration With 21c Museum Hotels
Courtesy of the Artist and Monique Meloche Gallery

Titus Kaphar, Behind the Myth of Benevolence
Dr. Martin Luther King Jr Expy & Preston Hwy, Louisville
In Collaboration With 21c Museum Hotels

LOUISIANA
For Freedoms, Four Freedoms
Hwy 90 & Seven Oaks Blvd, New Orleans 

MAINE
Christopher Myers, Mayflowers
Center for Maine Contemporary Art, Rockland
SPACE Gallery, Portland
Maine College of Art, Portland

Demian DinéYazhi’, PROMISE ME YOU WON'T COLONIZE ME (mars), 2014
SPACE Gallery, Portland

MARYLAND
Adam Pendleton, Midnight (A Victim of American Democracy)
Location Pending, Baltimore
In collaboration with the Baltimore Museum of Art

Steve Locke, Three Deliberate Grays for Freddie (A Memorial for Freddie Gray)
Location Pending, Baltimore

Shinique Smith, Portrait of Shinique as a Bundle on Rodeo Beach (3 months before Cosco oil spill), 2007
Coppin State University, Baltimore

Natalie White, Equal Means Equal
Mt Savage Rd NW & Homewood St NW, Cumberland

MASSACHUSETTS
David Birkin and Mariam Ghani, System Failure
Location Pending, Boston

Lorraine O'Grady, Come out, come out, wherever you are
I-91 & Plainfield St, Springfield

Peter van Agtmael, Disco Disco 123
MA-24 S 1.5m S of W Chestnut, Brockton

MICHIGAN
Jamila El Sahili, Human Being
Lansing Rd & Pinch Hwy, Lansing

Sam Durant, Poder
Cass & Amsterdam NW, Detroit

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

Derrick Adams, Ode to Bayard Rustin
I-44 110 ft east of Cass Avenue SS, St.Louis
In Collaboration With Projects+Gallery

Hank Willis Thomas, All Li es Matter
1200 Veterans Memorial Pkwy, St Charles
In Collaboration With Projects+Gallery

Michele Pred, YOUR BODY YOUR BUSINESS
In Collaboration With Projects+Gallery

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
Wangechi Mutu, Africa’s Out!
US Hwy 1 & Muirhead Ave, Trenton

William Scott and David Byrne, Untitled
Bloomfield Ave & N 12th St, Newark

NEW MEXICO
Demian DinéYazhi’, PROMISE ME YOU WON'T COLONIZE ME (mars), 2014
Location Pending, Las Cruces

Richard Misrach, Romans 13:10
CanAM Hwy & El Suspiro Ct, Las Cruces 

NEW YORK
Carrie Mae Weems, Democracy Hangs in the Balance
E Brighton Ave & Ainsley Dr, Syracuse
In Collaboration With Lightwork

Eric Gottesman, Where Do We Go From Here?
E Brighton Ave & Ainsley Dr, Syracuse
In Collaboration With Lightwork

Hank Willis Thomas, They Are Us
E Brighton Ave & Ainsley Dr, Syracuse
In Collaboration With Lightwork

Hank Willis Thomas, Us Is Them
E Brighton Ave & Ainsley Dr, Syracuse
In Collaboration With Lightwork

Suzanne Lacy & Anna Ayeroff, ONE/US
Crosstown Connection & Albany St, Albany
Photograph from The Circle and the Square, Suzanne Lacy, 2016, photo by Susan Guzman

Zoe Buckman, Grab Em By The Ballots
E Brighton Ave & Ainsley Dr, Syracuse
In Collaboration With Lightwork

NORTH CAROLINA
Jeffrey Gibson, THIS STORY HASN’T BEEN WRITTEN YET
I-95 & Red Oak Brattleboro Rd, Raleigh

Muna Malik, Exodus 22:21
University of North Carolina Charlotte, Charlotte

Stacey L. Kirby, Yo Soy Válida
Durham Fwy & Ellis Rd, Durham
In Collaboration With 21c Museum Hotels

Travis Somerville, Nevermind, 2016
North Carolina Agricultural and Technical State University, Greensboro

NORTH DAKOTA
Prune Nourry, << River Man >>
Rotating through several digital billboards across Fargo

OHIO
Emily Hanako Momohara, Child Imprisonment: Never Again is Now
I-75 & Vine St, Cincinnati

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

Justin Brice Guariglia, We Are The Asteroid
I-40 & S May Ave, Oklahoma City
In Collaboration With 21c Museum Hotels

OREGON
Carrie Mae Weems, To Dream
Portland Art Museum, Portland

Emily Jacir, Translate Allah
Lancaster Dr SE & State St, Salem

Trevor Paglen, Nov 6
Portland Art Museum, Portland

PENNSYLVANIA 
Anonymous, Me Pardon Me
I-95 & Linden Ave, Philadelphia

Anonymous, Pardon Me
I-95 & Linden Ave, Philadelphia

Jon Rubin, They All Look Alike
Location Pending, Harrisburg

Mitch Epstein, The Common Air
I-83 & S Front St, Harrisburg

PUERTO RICO
Esteban Valdés, Untitled
Location Pending, San Juan

La Puerta Bandera, Todo Se Pudre En El Vagón De La Colonia
Location Pending, San Juan

Miguel Luciano, Untitled
Location Pending, San Juan

RHODE ISLAND
Tuan Andrew 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
Tunkasila, We Are All Related
I-90 & Sidney Stage Rd, Rapid City

Xaviera Simmons, Freedom Is Not Guaranteed
8th Ave NE & N Roosevelt St, Aberdeen

TENNESSEE
Ahron Weiner, Buttheads
8th Street, Austin Peay State University, Clarksville

Hank Willis Thomas, Love Over Rules
I-24 & Cowan St, Nashville
In Collaboration With 21c Museum Hotels

Sadie Barnette, Some Space
Gallatin Pike S & E Due W Ave, Nashville

TEXAS
Alfredo Jaar, Es Usted Feliz
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
Vermont College of Fine Arts
East State and West Streets

VIRGINIA
Joy Sela, We Mirror
George Mason University, Fairfax

Derek Eley, Enter The Fray
Location Pending, Norfolk
In Collaboration with Virginia Museum of Contemporary Art

GRAN FURY, Welcome To America
Location Pending, Norfolk
In Collaboration with Virginia Museum of Contemporary Art

Harrell Fletcher, It’s Time To Read Orwell Again
Location Pending, Portsmouth
In Collaboration with Virginia Museum of Contemporary Art

Jim Goldberg, Everywhere You Look You See Yourself
Location Pending, Chesapeake
In Collaboration with Virginia Museum of Contemporary Art

Teens With A Purpose, Untitled
Location Pending, Norfolk
In Collaboration with Virginia Museum of Contemporary Art

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

FORTCOMING BILLBOARDS:
Aida Muluneh, The American Dream
Alfredo Jaar, Teach Us
Anonymous, This Is A Fork
Bayeté Ross Smith, Untitled
Carlos Motta, Untitled
Cassils, Untitled
Charlotte Woolf, Don’t Tell Her Who To Be
Community Design at Suny Purchase, Believe Me
Community Design at Suny Purchase, Rights Gone Wrong
Deb Willis, Reflections On Our Freedoms
Dread Scott, Untitled
Jon Santos, The End Of The World
José Parlá, "Equality in Peace" Igualdad en Paz
Karen Ishizuka, You Are Here
Mariam Ghani, You say we are but dust…
Michelle Angela Ortiz, Familias Separadas
Mitch Epstein, Disobedience
Steve Lambert, The NRA Loves You
Wesaam Al Badry, We Didn’t Want War
Zoë Buckman, Jemima

For Freedoms is a collective for creative citizenship founded by Creative Capital artist Eric Gottesman and 2018 Guggenheim Fellow Hank Willis Thomas. It is a collaboration between artists, arts institutions, and active citizens who experiment with and produce new forms of civic action. It believes in—and advocates for—creativity as a civic right, participation as a civic duty, and deeper discourse as a catalyst of civic change. And it welcomes all. 

For Freedoms started in 2016 as a platform for civic engagement, discourse, and direct action for artists in the United States. Inspired by Norman Rockwell’s 1943 paintings of the four universal freedoms articulated by Franklin Delano Roosevelt in 1941—freedom of speech, freedom of worship, freedom from want, and freedom from fear—For Freedoms seeks to use art to deepen public discussions of civic issues and core values, and to clarify that citizenship in American society is deepened by participation, not by ideology. For Freedoms is part of a rich history of artists employing means of mass communication to provoke political discourse. For Freedoms believes art, and artists, play an important role in galvanizing our society towards a more representative and transparent government.