MAKE NOISE
Faces of Free Expression
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THE ONLY WAY TO COUNTER REPRESSION IS BY REVEALING IT.
-Ahmed Mansoor
An engineer, poet and father of four, Mansoor is the United Arab Emirates’ most celebrated human-rights activist. In 2018, he was sentenced to 10 years in prison. He is being kept in solitary confinement.
About the Exhibit
The International Free Expression Project is presenting the "Faces" exhibit in partnership with IFEX, a global network of more than 100 non-governmental organisations committed to promoting and defending the right to freedom of expression. It is being displayed here in virtual form and in physical form on the facade of the former Post-Gazette newspaper building in the U.S. city of Pittsburgh, as illustrated at the top of this page.
IFEX launched their “Faces of Free Expression” campaign to encourage people to defend free expression by sharing the stories of some who do — people who work to secure the right to information, or make it safer for journalists to do their jobs, or expand room for civil society, or hold public officials accountable, or ensure space for artistic creativity. Their tenacity and sacrifice — and that of thousands of others in this global struggle — are an inspiration.
Hannah Phillips (Piper Creative) © IFEP
A Marketplace of Ideas
IFEP is working to create a "Marketplace of Ideas" in the vast abandoned pressroom of the former Post-Gazette building. Visitors will find an international mix of immersive educational exhibits, makerspaces, artists' markets, performance venues and food and beverage — an explosion of expression.
WE ARE JOURNALISTS, AND WE WILL NOT BE INTIMIDATED. WE WILL SHINE THE LIGHT. WE WILL HOLD THE LINE.
-Maria Ressa
Maria Ressa is a tenacious Filipina-American journalist who faces years in prison for exposing corruption in the government of President Rodrigo Duterte. For her courage in defense of free expression, Ms. Ressa was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 2021. A #HoldTheLine coalition of 80 organizations and activists, including IFEP, is campaigning to elevate her efforts.
THERE ARE CROOKS EVERYWHERE YOU LOOK NOW. THE SITUATION IS DESPERATE.
-Daphne Caruana Galizia
This was Caruana Galizia’s final blog post before she was murdered in 2017. A passionate, probing and fearless investigative journalist, she paid the ultimate price for exposing corruption in Malta.
Thank you to those who have made this exhibition possible.
DiCicco Development Inc.
Catherine and Donald Augenstein
Henry John Simonds Foundation
The Pittsburgh Foundation
Block Communications Inc.
William W. Victor
John Oller
Jill and Norbert Buelsing
Arthur Beeman and Cate Elsten
Rekha Shukla
Faces illustrations by Florian Nicolle / © IFEX
Marketplace renderings by Max Winters and Christopher Ruane / © IFEP
Mai Khoi photo by Hannah Phillips (Piper Creative) / © IFEP
Svetlana Alexievich photo by Ulf Andersen / © Getty Images
Jamal Khashoggi illustration by Daniel Marsula / © IFEP
Exhibit design by Daria Locher, IFEP creative coordinator
Murals by Alphagraphics Pittsburgh
The Artist Behind Faces
Florian Nicolle was commissioned by IFEX to create the illustrations for Faces of Free Expression. He is a digital artist and freelance illustrator whose work communicates kinetic freshness and spontaneity using layers of newsprint, watercolor, pencil, and digital painting. Nicolle’s work also has been commissioned by brands such as Nike, Adobe, Warner Brothers and ESPN. Both his commissioned and personal work can be found on Behance.