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Brooklyn Academy of Music (BAM) will unveil its new outdoor art installation, Let Freedom Ring, on January 15, 2021. On view for a limited time, the digital billboard-based project is a provocative exploration of the notion of freedom and Dr. Martin Luther King Jr’s legacy, featuring new and existing image and text-based work by Brooklyn artists. Harnessing the scale of BAM’s outdoor digital signpost as a vehicle for public art, the project aims to spark civic discourse in Brooklyn and encourage viewers to reflect on what freedom truly means in 2021.
Timed to coincide with the nation’s annual commemoration of Dr. King and the historic 2021 Presidential and Vice Presidential inauguration, BAM will present the installation, located at the corner of Lafayette and Flatbush Avenues, from January 15-21, 2021. The visual art project is a part of BAM’s 35th Annual Brooklyn Tribute to Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.
Spearheaded by BAM Curator-at-Large Larry Ossei-Mensah, Let Freedom Ring features artists who are deeply engaged in an ongoing dialogue about the artists’ role in art, social justice, equity, and inclusion. The artists are Derrick Adams, Alvin Armstrong, Laylah Amatullah Barrayn, Lizania Cruz, Kameelah Janan Rasheed, Hank Willis Thomas, and Jasmine Wahi.
Let Freedom Ring is an extension of For Freedoms’ Awakening initiative, a collaboration between For Freedoms and Unfinished, featuring artist-designed billboards throughout the United States. The year-long campaign launched in October 2020 and responds to For Freedoms’ themes of healing, listening, justice, and awakening.
Visit BAM.org for more information.
Hank Willis Thomas
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