Fear is the Cheapest Room in the House – For Freedoms Billboard
This billboard was designed in collaboration with my sister, Cidney Ehya, for For Freedoms' 2020 Awakening campaign. As a design assistant, I also finalized and formatted art for 100 billboards by over 85 artists in all 50 states and several US territories for both print and digital uses.
Photo by: Alyssa Meadows
"Fear is the cheapest room in the house" - Hafez (14th Century Persian Poet)
"So you're a terrorist" is a common response when someone learns our family is from Iran. Why are certain people marked as dangerous? Fear. Fear of the unknown, fear of what is different, fear of what we don't understand. Fear is the easiest emotion to react to. We don't question it. It's a natural instinct when we think we have something to lose. But what happens when we move past fear? We can feel, connect, ask questions, engage, understand, and find peace and lead with love. We can invite each other in, share a meal, share a story, and find ourselves in each other.
As our first collaboration together, we wanted to pay homage to our Persian heritage within the context of For Freedom's 2020 Awakening campaign. Poetry and art run deep in Persian culture throughout the millennia of our history. Like the floral patterns found on mosques and rugs, and the typography in our design, our Persian and American identities are woven together.
