The Farhang Foundation, an Iranian-American culture and arts nonprofit, has gifted the city of Los Angeles a brand-new work of public art called The Freedom Sculpture. “The Freedom Sculpture is a testament to the values we hold dear and we are honored to receive it,” said Mayor Eric Garcetti at the inaugural L.A. Freedom Festival which drew over 70,000 people on July 4th.
Renowned architect Cecil Balmond designed the sculpture and says he drew inspiration from the Cyrus Cylinder, a 2,500-year-old Persian artifact often referred to as ‘the first charter of human rights.’ It is reported that over one million people donated approximately $2.5 million to the Freedom Sculpture’s crowdfunding campaign – including tech titan Elon Musk and businessperson Lynda Resnick.
According to the sculpture’s website: “The Freedom Sculpture, is a ‘Statue of Liberty’ for the West Coast. It is an Iranian-American led, widely crowd-supported public monumental gift.”
