A portrait from Carlos’s Souls of a Movement project was used by artist Ebony Brown for her “Who’s in Control of Your Narrative?” billboard installed in Norfolk, VA, as part of the 2020 Awakening campaign organized by For Freedoms.
For Freedoms is an artist-run non-partisan platform for civic engagement, discourse, and direct action for artists in the US. Co-founded by Hank Willis Thomas and Eric Gottesman in 2016, it has partnered with US-based institutions and artists for activations including town halls, exhibitions and installations, public programs, billboard campaigns, and artist residencies. In June 2018, For Freedoms launched the 50 State Initiative, a campaign to bring 52 artist-designed billboards bearing thought-provoking messages to all 50 states, plus Washington, D.C., and Puerto Rico, which described as the “largest-ever public art project in the US.”
The 2020 Awakening campaign centered around four new freedoms: awakening, listening, healing, and justice and was inspired by the 1860s youth-led organization who championed the election of Abraham Lincoln, the Wide Awakes. Artists who have participated include Ai Weiwei, Christine Sun Kim, the Guerrilla Girls, Marilyn Minter, Carlos Motta and Prabal Gurung. Link to post.
