In his 1941 State of the Union address, President Franklin D. Roosevelt proclaimed four goals for "people everywhere in the world:" Freedom of speech, freedom of worship, freedom from want, and freedom from fear. These Four Freedoms became part of the United Nations Declaration of Human Rights.
Roosevelt equated “Freedom from Fear” mainly with overcoming war and violence. Today, the global consequences of the pandemic, climate change, and of rapid digital evolution and the resulting social change trigger fears all over the world. As social seismographs, the protagonists of the "Freedom from Fear" video series reflect on the significance of the right to live without fear in search of answers: How can literature, dance, music, philosophy, and politics conquer social fears?
Sam Durant is a U.S.–American multimedia artist whose works engage social, political, and cultural issues. Often referencing American history, his work explores culture and politics, engaging subjects such as the civil rights movement, southern rock music, and modernism.