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Sep 28, 2023 “Let Freedom Read” – A Dress on Exhibit for Banned Books Week & Beyond

Posted at 14:18h in Announcement by
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The Let Freedom Read Dress celebrates the American Library Association’s 2023 Banned Book Week goal of fighting censorship and aligns with this year’s theme “Let Freedom Read.” This theme is adapted from the patriotic song, America (My Country, ‘Tis of Thee) written by Samuel Francis Smith in 1831, with the closing chorus “let freedom ring.”  Inspired by the era of these original lyrics, the dress is an early nineteenth century style with patriotic colors and style embellishments to symbolize America’s foundation in liberty and freedom for all.

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.  In opposition to these book challenges, especially the focus on books with LGBTQ+ content, the Let Freedom Read Dress was modeled by Salt Lake City drag artist Gia Bianca Stephens.

The Let Freedom Read Dress was a collaboration that mixed the interests and talents of partners Rachel Jane Wittmann (she/her), librarian, and Kirby Gene Anderson (he/him), technical designer. “I put in more hours on this dress than any other garment I’ve ever made” said Kirby, reflecting on his nearly 200 hours needed to create the dress, “appliqué is very detailed work that requires time, there is no way to rush it.” Over the years, Kirby has designed and sewn couture outfits for many local drag artists including Gia Bianca Stephens.

Rachel led the data visualization component of the dress, ensuring that titles were created to the appropriate size. “Half of the titles were cut out and sewn on, the other half were embroidered on. Each title decreased a half an inch in size according to their ranking on ALA’s most challenged book list. The largest, most challenged title Gender Queer is 6 inches in height and the smallest, This Book is Gay, is 1 inch in height. It was incredibly nerve-wracking to sew on the titles since we were afraid of mistakes and it took us a while to trust the embroidery machine after it tore a few holes in fabric during test runs.”  For the 13 book titles, there are 241 letters appliquéd and embroidered onto the dress, which is made of 13.5 yards of silk taffeta.

“We’re excited to share the dress with the public and hopefully unveil a unique way to rally behind Banned Books Week and the Let Freedom Read campaign while supporting our LGBTQ+ friends and family” Rachel commented, “and Gia is fierce in the dress – she’s the perfect person to showcase this work of art.”

The Let Freedom Read Dress is on display in the J. Willard Marriott Library near the 3rd floor entrance until October 27, 2023
About the Dress
  • 13 titles (241 letters) were appliqued, embroidered, and some applique of embroidery on to the dress (there were several ties in ALA’s top 10, hence 13 titles:
    1) Gender Queer
    2) All Boys Aren’t Blue
    3) The Bluest Eye
    4) Flamer
    5) Looking For Alaska
    5) The Perks of Being a Wallflower
    7) Lawnboy
    8) The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian
    9) Out of Darkness
    10) A Court of Mist and Fury
    10) Crank
    10) Me and Earl and the Dying Girl
    10) This Book is Gay
  • The largest title is 6 inches in height and smallest is 1 inch in height
  • There were 13.5 yards of silk taffeta used in the dress
  • 13 stars were embroidered on each sleeve to represent the 13 titles
  • The dress took nearly 200 hours to complete
Project Origins

Rachel was approached by the Banned Book Week planning committee at the Marriott Library to make a dress for Drag Queen Gia Bianca Stephens. The planning committee was aware of Kirby’s relationship with Gia and Rachel’s experience with textile-based data visualizations.

About the Creators

Kirby Gene Anderson (he/him/his) is a University of Utah alumnus and technical designer in the Salt Lake City area. Coming from a long line of makers, Kirby learned his fundamental sewing skills from his mother, but most was self-taught to achieve the punk rock aesthetic of his youth. While working at a fabric store in Salt Lake City, Kirby befriended its frequent customers who were also local drag performers and then began creating for the drag community. Kirby has designed and sewn couture outfits for local drag performing artists including Gia Bianca Stephens, Molly Mormon, Mona Diet, Kay Bye, Austin Bakaric and more.

Rachel Jane Wittmann (she/her/hers) is a digital curation librarian at the University of Utah’s Marriott Library. Rachel enjoys creating data visualizations and has previously dabbled with textile-based data visualizations in another dress mapping Utah wildfire data. The Let Freedom Read Dress is a combination of talents and interests between Kirby and Rachel, who also happen to be partners.

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