The Free Speech Wall
Upon unanimous approval by City Council in early 2021, The Bridge has become the owner and caretaker of the Community Chalkboard, known as the “Free Speech Wall”. The Bridge has accepted stewardship duties, including repair, maintenance, and programming efforts. We launched our stewardship efforts with a lively week of programming featuring a Rededication Coalition of over two dozen partnering organizations and artists.
Join in celebrating a new chapter for the renown public landmark in the heart of town as an inclusive, inviting tribute to creative expression and public engagement. We steward this landmark for the next generations of artists and thinkers expressing the ideas shaping a better future for us all.
Rededication of the Community Chalkboard is brought to you by the coalition of participating artists and organizations listed above and with generous support from The Genan Foundation, Ellen Climo & Marc Lipson, Jacqueline Langholtz & William Taylor, and Marlena Simon & Matthew Simon.
Rededication Coalition: Charlottesville Tomorrow, Muralist Chicho Lorenzo, The Front Porch, UVA Music Department, Telemetry Music Series, Central Virginia Theater Alliance, Big Blue Door, MIMA Music, Community Climate Collaborative, Bent Theatre, Patricia Asuncion, Rasquache Tolchikaualistli, Creciendo Juntos, Feminist Union of Charlottesville Creatives, Nettle Shirts Puppet Works, Cinema Skate Shop, Nine Pillars Hip Hop Cultural Fest, Muralist Jae Johnson, Charlottesville Jazz Society.