(FAQs under construction) Why now? / Why Pittsburgh? / What's in it for Pittsburgh?
Why now?
Journalists, cartoonists, writers, artists, musicians, filmmakers, scientists, nonconformists and dissidents of every kind are being silenced, threatened, forced into exile, jailed and murdered in greater numbers than at any time in recent memory.
Governments are crushing dissent in China, Russia, Turkey, Saudi Arabia … the list is very long and rapidly growing.
Extremists are blowing up journalists in Paris; hacking journalists, bloggers and musicians to death in Bangladesh; killing and terrorizing all who disagree with their uncompromising ideologies. Some, by destroying historical records, artistic masterpieces and entire ancient cities such as Palmyra and Nineveh, are trying to wipe out entire entire cultures and silence even the voices of the past.
In the West, too, governments and populist movements are shutting down those who hold contrary views. Even in the United States, which has prided itself on protecting free expression since it adopted the Bill of Rights in 1791, threats to a free press and free expression are accelerating. The press is attacked as “the enemy of the people,” the label “fake news” is wielded to discredit those who challenge the powerful, academic institutions dedicated to free and robust inquiry shut down unwelcome voices in fear of protest, exemplary scientists are derided as cooking up false conclusions to fit their policy preferences and are seeing their work hidden from public view.
Rarely has there been a more important time for people around the world to mobilize in support of the right to free expression.
Journalists, cartoonists, writers, artists, musicians, filmmakers, scientists, nonconformists and dissidents of every kind are being silenced, threatened, forced into exile, jailed and murdered in greater numbers than at any time in recent memory.
Governments are crushing dissent in China, Russia, Turkey, Saudi Arabia … the list is very long and rapidly growing.
Extremists are blowing up journalists in Paris; hacking journalists, bloggers and musicians to death in Bangladesh; killing and terrorizing all who disagree with their uncompromising ideologies. Some, by destroying historical records, artistic masterpieces and entire ancient cities such as Palmyra and Nineveh, are trying to wipe out entire entire cultures and silence even the voices of the past.
In the West, too, governments and populist movements are shutting down those who hold contrary views. Even in the United States, which has prided itself on protecting free expression since it adopted the Bill of Rights in 1791, threats to a free press and free expression are accelerating. The press is attacked as “the enemy of the people,” the label “fake news” is wielded to discredit those who challenge the powerful, academic institutions dedicated to free and robust inquiry shut down unwelcome voices in fear of protest, exemplary scientists are derided as cooking up false conclusions to fit their policy preferences and are seeing their work hidden from public view.
Rarely has there been a more important time for people around the world to mobilize in support of the right to free expression.
Why Pittsburgh?
* An extraordinary site is now available for the Global Symbol of Free Expression and Marketplace of Ideas in Pittsburgh at one of the scenic locations anywhere — at the convergence of three rivers, over which looms a mountain ridge — rated by USA Today as the second-most beautiful in America.
* At the same site sits a vast, historic former pressroom that has been abandoned and is available for redevelopment. Not only does the pressroom retain its unique industrial ambiance, it is uniquely situated along a major boulevard at Pittsburgh’s front entrance. It is uniquely flexible – with I-beams 40-feet high that can carry 50 tons, and a rail system that criss-crosses the floor. These could move massive art installations, floor panels, artisan stalls, food galleys, maker machines and objects of every sort up and down in the pressroom and in and out of the building.
* The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette newspaper that was printed in this building dates back to 1786. It was one of the original newspaper publishers of the U.S. Constitution and Bill of Rights, which begins with The First Amendment. This amendment was the first legal guarantee in the world of the right to free expression and the precursor to Article 19 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.
* Pittsburgh is home to the first commercial radio station in the world (KDKA), the first community television station in the United States (WQED) and one of the most influential African-American newspapers in US history — the Pittsburgh Courier.
* Pittsburgh is positioning itself as an international driving force in the protection of free speech, most recently with two major National First Amendment Conferences. Pittsburgh also is home to City of Asylum, the U.S. headquarters for the International Cities of Refuge Network.
* Dozens of Pittsburgh leaders, institutions and individuals support the project and are aiding in its development — including the mayor, county executive, the Andy Warhol Museum, the Office of Public Art, foundations, business leaders and the like.
* IFEP also has generated substantial national and international support, with advisory board members such as actor/director Michael Keaton, journalist Tom Brokaw and Nobel literature laureate Svetlana Alexievich.
* IFEP has a plan, which includes internationalizing its work at every stage, so that it is not a Pittsburgh project but a global project unlike any other. It internationally crowdsourced the design of its logo, which was created by Indonesian artist Lina Syahaqila. Also internationally crowdsourced will be aspects of its centerpiece work of public art, its curation of artworks and its periodic redesigns of the Marketplace of Ideas (made possible by the former pressroom’s singular capabilities -- I-beams that can lift 50 tons and a rail system throughout its floor).
* At the same site sits a vast, historic former pressroom that has been abandoned and is available for redevelopment. Not only does the pressroom retain its unique industrial ambiance, it is uniquely situated along a major boulevard at Pittsburgh’s front entrance. It is uniquely flexible – with I-beams 40-feet high that can carry 50 tons, and a rail system that criss-crosses the floor. These could move massive art installations, floor panels, artisan stalls, food galleys, maker machines and objects of every sort up and down in the pressroom and in and out of the building.
* The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette newspaper that was printed in this building dates back to 1786. It was one of the original newspaper publishers of the U.S. Constitution and Bill of Rights, which begins with The First Amendment. This amendment was the first legal guarantee in the world of the right to free expression and the precursor to Article 19 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.
* Pittsburgh is home to the first commercial radio station in the world (KDKA), the first community television station in the United States (WQED) and one of the most influential African-American newspapers in US history — the Pittsburgh Courier.
* Pittsburgh is positioning itself as an international driving force in the protection of free speech, most recently with two major National First Amendment Conferences. Pittsburgh also is home to City of Asylum, the U.S. headquarters for the International Cities of Refuge Network.
* Dozens of Pittsburgh leaders, institutions and individuals support the project and are aiding in its development — including the mayor, county executive, the Andy Warhol Museum, the Office of Public Art, foundations, business leaders and the like.
* IFEP also has generated substantial national and international support, with advisory board members such as actor/director Michael Keaton, journalist Tom Brokaw and Nobel literature laureate Svetlana Alexievich.
* IFEP has a plan, which includes internationalizing its work at every stage, so that it is not a Pittsburgh project but a global project unlike any other. It internationally crowdsourced the design of its logo, which was created by Indonesian artist Lina Syahaqila. Also internationally crowdsourced will be aspects of its centerpiece work of public art, its curation of artworks and its periodic redesigns of the Marketplace of Ideas (made possible by the former pressroom’s singular capabilities -- I-beams that can lift 50 tons and a rail system throughout its floor).
What's in it for Pittsburgh?
IFEP will:
1) Draw international attention to Pittsburgh as an incubator of ideas where all people are welcome.
2) Showcase Pittsburgh’s creativity at the city’s front entrance -- one of the most scenic sights anywhere.
3) Activate a dead corner of the city's Gateway.
4) Extend to the Point the corridors of arts, entertainment, business and residential development that run from the Strip District to Market Square and along First-Avenue overlooking the Monongahela River.
5) Attract visitors and investment to Downtown. (Pittsburgh Downtown Partnership aspirations for downtown)
1) Draw international attention to Pittsburgh as an incubator of ideas where all people are welcome.
2) Showcase Pittsburgh’s creativity at the city’s front entrance -- one of the most scenic sights anywhere.
3) Activate a dead corner of the city's Gateway.
4) Extend to the Point the corridors of arts, entertainment, business and residential development that run from the Strip District to Market Square and along First-Avenue overlooking the Monongahela River.
5) Attract visitors and investment to Downtown. (Pittsburgh Downtown Partnership aspirations for downtown)
