Thomas Jefferson Center Says "Howl" for Freedom of Expression

The Thomas Jefferson Center for the Protection of Free Expression is a unique organization, devoted solely to the defense of free expression in all its forms. While its charge is sharply focused, the Center’s mission is broad. It is as concerned with the musician as with the mass media, with the painter as with the publisher, and as much with the sculptor as the editor.

To commenorate the 50th anniversary of the obscenity trial of poet Allen Ginsberg for his work, "Howl." It ws 50 years ago that his work was cleared in a San Francisco courtroom. The center has created a public work of art that also serves as a free expression podium.Designed by architects Peter O’Shea and Robert Winstead, the Thomas Jefferson Center for the Protection of Free Expression has created a tangible and enduring embodiment of the concept of free expression. Located directly in front of Charlottesville’s City Hall and beside the city’s amphitheater, the monument consists primarily of a two-sided wall of Buckingham slate, approximately 54 feet long (108’ of writing space) by 7.5 feet high, on which members of the public may express their views, in chalk, on any subject they choose. Permanently inscribed on one segment of the wall is the text of the First Amendment of the United States Constitution.
Check out their online exhibit covering censorship in the arts - "Art on Trial." The material has extensive coverage of art-based political issues, including the controversy surrounding the student exhibit at the School of the Art Institute in Chicago, "What is the Proper Way to Display a Flag" (1989) by Dread Scott.