When free expression is under threat, the best defense might be free expression.
A group of artists including visual artist Dread Scott, playwright Lynn Nottage, and novelist Hari Kunzru are calling for events beginning Nov. 21-22 as part of a “Fall of Freedom” action in museums, libraries, book stores, theaters, and concert halls across the country – each independently organized but united in their defense of expression and art.
Organizations including the Brooklyn Public Library, the Public Theater, the Berkeley Repertory Theater in California and Arena Stage in Washington D.C., have signed on to activate their spaces for Fall of Freedom events, along with a growing list of theaters, galleries, and bookstores.
“The mantra is that expression is the action, courage is contagious, and art matters,” says Nottage, a member of PEN America’s board of trustees. “The current administration and Project 2025 and all of these very far right groups have really begun to control the narrative. As artists, it’s incumbent upon us to wrestle back the narrative. I mean, what can we do, other than to tell stories?”
The organization posted a toolkit with suggestions for creating an event for everyone from museum curators and book store employees to students and visual artists. Ideas include hosting open-mic nights, pop-up exhibits, and readings of banned books and plays.
Former PEN America President Jennifer Egan is planning a reading with other authors. The Institute of Contemporary Art, Los Angeles, will host a “Wear Your Rights” silk-screening workshop. Other events include screenings of banned films. Filmmaker Ava DuVernay and musician John Legend are among those who have signed on.
Nottage heard from one writer who plans a workshop that’s open to the public. And Nottage herself plans a curtain speech at her Broadway show MJ the Musical and readings of her monologue, “A Letter to Harriet Hayden” from the frequently banned The 1619 Project at National Sawdust and La Mama. Fall of Freedom plans to create a map with events across the country.
For Nottage, it’s all a piece of wrestling back the narrative. “I think it’s important in moments like this for us to be visible and to say that we’re not going to take this.”
To find a Fall of Freedom event or start your own, go to falloffreedom.com.
