Students in Leah Sobsey’s photography class in the School of Art have been participating in an ongoing art installation — The Lawn Sign Project , which explores the concept of freedom through a variety of viewpoints. The Lawn Sign Project made stops this fall in Greensboro and in Brooklyn, NY. In each location, students invited community members to respond to two prompts: “when is a time you felt free?” and “when is a time you felt your freedom taken away?” After being interviewed, participants were photographed. Students printed the words and pictures on black and white lawn signs and installed them in public spaces – at Greensboro Project Space, UNCG’s downtown art space, and at Elliott University Center on the UNCG campus, as well as in Prospect Park in Brooklyn.
The Lawn Sign Project, made possible through a UNCG Diversity Grant, is in collaboration with the Community Arts Collaborative, the UNCG School of Art, and in association with For Freedoms, a non-partisan nationwide initiative that uses art to deepen public discussions on civic issues and core values for people who want to be more engaged in public life.
The project stems from For Freedom’s re-imagining of Franklin D. Roosevelt’s Four Freedoms: Freedom of Speech, Freedom of Worship, Freedom from Want, and Freedom from Fear.
