The Freedom Project was exactly what it says: a project. A project to see what kind of a result we would get when we asked a group of artist to create something that represented Freedom to them. Everything was left up to the individuals and no rules or guidelines were given. We had one requirement, and that was we had to be able to display the submission on the screen. Any medium was allowed to be used in their process. All the work was then shown together, as one complete presentation. This group presentation was as important as any other part of the project. By showing all the work together it emphasized how all six artists could reach the same goal in such different ways, and how individual interpretation was different. Along with the visual submission, all the participants were asked to submit a paragraph about how their work represented. By explaining the work, they were forced to have a concept, and give insight into why this was their interpretation.
Over the 12 releases there were more than 70 participants. The reason this number is not exact is due to the final release. We invited design portals to give a submission from their entire team, and we do not have an exact number of contributors for those pieces. We've had the opportunity to bring many of the most interesting artists together, working on one project individually. Seeing that full list of participants on this page is very exciting to us. It shows what we have accomplished in bringing so many amazing talents together in this format.
There were definitely ups and downs with the management of the Freedom Project. We were very strict in our deadlines, and almost always managed to launch the new projects on the first of the month. While most of the contributors got their work in by the deadline, which was the 15th of the month before the release, some work was delivered only days or hours before launch. We realize that our project was only produced for love and most of our artists had to meet professional obligations before working on the Freedom Project. We are truly thankful to everyone who took part. There were only a few times when an artist was not able to deliver work, we had to work some magic to resolve these situations. We did make a few "WE REALLY NEED YOUR WORK IN SOON" phone calls, even a few overseas (you know who you are). But in the end no one was harmed and everyone is still friends today. We had an amazing time organizing all of this and we must thank everyone who supported the project. We are truly grateful for all of the wonderful friends we have made around the globe.
One note about the Freedom Project must be made. The concept for this project was developed before the events of September 11, and in no way try to answer any questions anyone may have from the events of that day. The word "Freedom" has been given a new meaning in our current environment, and we did not intend to make any kind of political statement with our actions. We do believe in freedom for all people.
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