Richard and Lois Rosenthal

The National Underground Railroad Freedom Center announced today that it will have a new gallery housing a permanent exhibit on contemporary slavery, thanks to a generous gift from Lois and Richard Rosenthal.

The new gallery space, comprising approximately 3,000 square feet, is on the third floor of the Freedom Center’s east wing. After renovations to the area over the summer, the space will re-open as the “Lois and Richard Rosenthal Gallery of Contemporary Slavery.”   It will be the permanent location for the Freedom Center’s expanded “Invisible: Slavery Today” exhibit on modern forms of slavery — the first of its kind in the world.

“We are pleased to make this gift in support of the Freedom Center’s mission of education and awareness, especially its focus on bringing attention to conditions of slavery in the world today,” said Lois Rosenthal.

“The Invisible exhibition will provide a powerful, in-depth examination of modern forms of slavery, such as forced child labor, sex trafficking and domestic servitude.  It will link these issues to the universal struggle for freedom through the ages,” said Donald Murphy, the Freedom Center’s CEO and President.  “We believe this new exhibition will contribute substantially to raising the public’s awareness of the existence of slavery today, while also inspiring action to help end it.”

The Rosenthals are well-known patrons of the arts and community advocates.  Their philanthropy has provided substantive support for dozens of local arts and education organizations over the years, including most prominently the Lois and Richard Rosenthal Center for Contemporary Art, as well as Playhouse in the Park, the Cincinnati Art Museum, and numerous others. The couple created Uptown Arts, an arts center downtown that provides free classes in art, music, theater and dance for five to 10-year-olds who live within a five-mile radius of the building on East Liberty Street. Lois Rosenthal is a Member of the Freedom Center Board of Directors – one of many of the couple’s non-profit affiliations.

The new Invisible: Slavery Today exhibit is based upon an earlier version created by the Freedom Center in 2006 and displayed in early 2007 before becoming a traveling exhibit that has been displayed around the nation and internationally.  The updated version is being designed by Touch Worldwide in Seattle, with underwriting from the Skirball Foundation.  It will feature interactive, media-rich presentations about modern-day slavery, its causes, and possible solutions.  It will be unveiled in October to coincide with the awarding of the Freedom Center’s prestigious International Freedom Conductor Award to the Dalai Lama.