The Let Freedom Read Dress is a textile-based data visualization created by Kirby Gene Anderson and Rachel Jane Wittmann that celebrates the American Library Association's 2023 Banned Book Week's theme "Let Freedom Read." Using the American Library Association's top 13 most frequently challenged books in 2022, book titles were appliquéd to the dress with differing letter sizes to reflect their ranking on this list. The 13 book titles consist of 241 appliquéd and embroidered letters onto the dress which is made of 13.5 yards of silk taffeta and took 125 hours to create. In opposition to these book challenges, especially the focus on challenging books with LGBTQ+ content, the Let Freedom Read Dress was modeled by Salt Lake City drag artist Gia Bianca Stephens, in conjunction with Banned Book Week 2023.
TO
