The Four Freedoms articulated by Franklin Delano Roosevelt in 1941—freedom of speech, freedom of worship, freedom from want, and freedom from fear—and illustrated by Norman Rockwell’s 1943 paintings serve as the inspiration for For Freedoms, founded by artists Hank Willis Thomas and Eric Gottesman that seeks to use art to deepen public discussions of civic issues and core values, and to clarify that citizenship in American society is defined by participation, not by ideology.

The Tang is joining this nationwide initiative through For Freedoms, a public, non-partisan, lawn-sign-making event and exhibition that aims to promote civic discourse and a multiplicity of voices.

The lawn signs allow participants to define freedom in their own way and articulate a vision of freedom that contains multitudes.

Visitors will be invited to have their signs installed outside the Tang, where they will stay on view as part of a public art project through the November election. Those who wish to display their signs at their own homes are encouraged to share images of their signs on social media with the hashtags #ForFreedoms and #TangMuseum.

In addition to sign-making on September 25, the Skidmore College Student Government Association will be registering residents to vote in the upcoming elections on November 6. The event is being held in conjunction with the final week of the art and activism exhibition Give a damn.