Looking for an Art Exhibit in Philadelphia? Discover Word Powered: Exploring Free Speech Through Art
Art is a valuable means through which we can examine our right to free speech. The right to freely express oneself in the medium of their choosing is one that is central to liberty—but often one of the most fiercely debated. Censorship and bias manifest in response to art, but it can be a powerful tool to comment, criticize, and spread messages in a way that spoken or written words simply cannot. With this in mind, the National Liberty Museum’s Year of Free Speech exhibition series includes Word Powered: Exploring Free Speech Through Art. This art exhibit in Philadelphia focuses on the dynamic relationship between censorship, freedom of expression, and diverse perspectives.
Reorganizing Language
Many of the pieces featured in Word Powered include some element of the written word. “First Amendment” by Shelley Brenner Baird is a reassembly of political signs and slogans to recreate the text of the U.S. Constitution’s first amendment in collage form. The piece was inspired by the increasing political polarization of the nation in the wake of the 2024 election. Micki Watanabe-Spiller’s “Reading Outlaws” combines physical books—banned books from history including Brave New World and The Color Purple—with fashion and sewing to present a series of sashes that contain the books, and integrate elements from the books into their design.
New Formats of Communication
In the internet age, communication looks a lot different than it did in years past. The mass proliferation of memes across the digital landscape presents contemporary artists with a wealth of material to reimagine and reinterpret. “Machine Series,” a multi-media piece by Cassandra Zampini, uses memes and viral conspiracy theories as the basis for a video installation and series of paintings. The piece explores technology’s impact on free speech, and the way that the internet rewrites the rules of traditional communication.
A Global Focus
Pennsylvania-based painter Furong Zhang spent his early childhood in Shanghai amid the Chinese Cultural Revolution, and this experience continues to inform his work to this day. In “Windows,” Zhang’s painting depicts a series of “puppet masters” who watch and control subjects through surveillance screens. This powerful imagery reminds us that our liberty cannot be taken for granted. Elyana Shams’s installation “Cheshmee” takes the form of a peephole surrounded by lack fabric, where viewers can see images from pre-revolution Iran, and consider the impacts of that revolution on freedom of expression in the country today.
Plenty to Explore
These are only a few of the fascinating, challenging pieces on display in this art exhibit at Philadelphia’s National Liberty Museum. We are so proud of all the works in Word Powered, and encourage you to visit them yourself. While you’re here, you can also delve into our other Year of Free Speech exhibitions, including Let’s Talk: Confronting What Divides Us and Free Speech: Our Right, Our Responsibility. Visitors are in for a wide-ranging, eclectic exploration of liberty and expression ranging from the artistic to the historical, and the technological to the experiential.
See Our Art Exhibit in Philadelphia First-Hand
The real impact of art is always stronger when viewed and experienced in person. With four floors of galleries and exhibitions that explore the past, present, and future of liberty, there’s plenty to see at the National Liberty Museum. Plan your visit, buy your tickets, and be sure to thoughtfully consider every piece on display in Word Powered: Exploring Free Speech Through Art when you arrive.
