The Rollins Museum of Art (previously known as the Cornell Fine Arts Museum) in Winter Park, Florida, along with the Olin Library, was proud to participate in the For Freedoms 50 State Initiative in Fall of 2018. This programming established by For Freedoms, aimed to encourage broad participation and inspire conversation around the November 2018 midterm elections.

Since 2016, For Freedoms -- founded by two artists whose works reside in the Museum’s permanent collection -- has produced special exhibitions, town hall meetings, billboards, and lawn sign installations to spur greater participation in civic life. Building off the existing artistic infrastructure in the United States, For Freedoms has developed a network of over 300 artists and 200 institutional partners who will produce nationwide public art installations, exhibitions and local community dialogues in order to inject nuanced, artistic thinking into public discourse. Centered around the vital work of artists, the hope is that these exhibitions and related projects will model how arts institutions can become civic forums for action and discussion of values, place, and patriotism.