NEW YORK ENCOUNTER/ 2013: Experiencing Freedom

Experiencing Freedom

We all talk about freedom. But what is freedom and what is its origin? What does it have to do with human fulfillment, authority, and power?

A great deal of uncertainty surrounds these questions. As a result, we find ourselves progressively replacing personal risk and responsibility with rules, policies, and risk management directives. It is as if we were afraid of experiencing too much freedom, and thus willing to trade it for one of its many palliatives.

We are approaching what T.S. Eliot predicted in his "Choruses from the Rock"—a society that "constantly tries to escape from the darkness outside and within by dreaming of systems so perfect that no one will need to be good" or in our case, free.

But what if freedom were not something to be regulated but plumbed to its depths?

In the land of freedom, in the city that greets the world with the Statue of Liberty, New York Encounter invites you to a weekend of public discussions, exhibits, presentations, and live performances exploring the topic of freedom. Our hope is that through its festivities, people, and life, New York Encounter itself may be, for all who participate, an experience of freedom.


NEW YORK ENCOUNTER at a Glance

Friday, January 18, 2013

• 6:45 pm | "Freedom Is the Most Precious Gift That Heaven Has Bestowed Upon Men" (Miguel De Cervantes). New York Encounter opening remarks by Msgr. Lorenzo ALBACETE, theologian, accompanied by witnesses and a poetry reading by Tony HENDRA, writer and author.

• 8:00 pm | Guided Tours of Exhibits

• 9:00 pm | America's Longing for Freedom. The Manhattan Wind Ensemble, directed by Christopher BAUM, will perform The Unanswered Question by Charles Ives and other American masterpieces, accompanied by images and commentaries by Jonathan FIELDS, musician.

Saturday, January 19, 2013

• 10:00 am | New York Encounter Opens. Guided tours of exhibits 10:00 AM, Noon, 1:00 PM, 7:00 PM

• 11:00 am | Chesterton and Freedom. A conversation and staged reading with Fr. Ian BOYD, President of The Chesterton Institute for Faith and Culture.

• 2:00 pm | Freedom, Risk, Responsibility: What Lies Behind a Corporate Success Story. Face to face with Harold KORELL, Chairman of the Board of Southwestern Energy.

• 3:30 pm | Liberty in Modern and Contemporary Art. A presentation by Francis GREENE, art historian.

• 5:00 pm | Freedom in Politics: The Story of Shahbaz Bhatti. The eyewitness account of the life and death of the murdered Pakistani Minister For Minority Affairs by his brother, Paul BHATTI, Pakistan's Minister for National Harmony.

• 9:00 pm | The Katrina Letters. In the cleanup of Hurricane Katrina, a New Orleans family discovered 500 letters exchanged by their parents at the time of their courtship during World War II. Ensemble piece for actors and singers with music ranging from Schubert to Tango to Broadway. Created and directed by Christopher Vath, musician. Paid admission, open seating. Tickets are $15 and are available online and at the door.