Freedom and Revolution
Being creative means being free. Artists have long been the ones who get us to see the world differently, and at Franconia we have over 100 examples of what happens when an artist is given the freedom to pursue their dreams. When I think of the logic behind what Franconia does, it’s this: we invite artists to catch your eye, make connections, and you leave seeing your world—your home, your choices, your future—differently. It’s a revolution, and it’s very cool.
“Freedom and Revolution” is our 2026 curatorial theme. We’ll use the year of art, connection, and community to think about what these words mean.
One of the most frustrating parts of participating in society is seeing better possibilities while living through unimaginable ones. Over the last 30 years, the world has needed Franconia Sculpture Park to be an example of freedom and revolution—a refuge for big, bold ideas. What has long fueled our commitment to contemporary artists is also what makes Franconia a joyous and empowering place.
We are fortunate to start the year by honoring Michael Richards, whose work at Franconia as an emerging artist-in-residence in the year 2000 was an early defining moment for our role in the world of sculptors. After Franconia, Richards would go on to a Lower Manhattan Cultural Council residency, occupying a studio on the 92nd floor of the World Trade Center. Richards died in his studio on 9/11.
Connecting dreams, values, and lived histories, Richards’s sculpture at Franconia, Are You Down?, originally cast in fiberglass, was posthumously cast in bronze and is Franconia’s only permanent sculpture. Michael Richards: Are You Down? is now the title of the first-ever monograph of Michael Richards, written by Melissa Levin and Alex Fialho.
A highly meaningful celebration of the book’s recent publication and the 25th anniversary of Richards’s passing will take place here on Saturday, April 18. Independent curator Esther Callahan will convene Levin and Fialho with Black Market Reads podcast host Lissa Jones Lofgren to discuss Richards’s legacy and reflect on the dreams we carry for freedom and for revolution. Afterwards, we can get our hands into clay and let Michael’s spirit move us to create with Mudluk Pottery Studio.
Whether through residency programs, workshops, festivals, or your next walk around the park, I hope that this year’s curatorial theme can empower you with a renewed sense of possibility. Every choice we make holds the chance for our values to change the world. I can’t wait to see what happens when we give more artists the power to shape it here, carrying on Michael Richards’s legacy. Are you down?