Celebrating Havel’s Place

A table and chairs in the shade of a tree. A small place with monumental importance.

Landry Ayres
Senior Producer

Landry Ayres is senior producer at Lib​er​tar​i​an​ism​.org. He has produced Free Thoughts, Building Tomorrow, The Pursuit, Portraits of Liberty, and co-​hosted Pop & Locke. He also is the producer of the Cato Institute’s Power Problems and Unintended Consequences podcasts. He received his BA in communication with a concentration in media production and criticism, as well as his MA in health communication, from George Mason University. He has produced audio for Audible, SXSW, and WNYC’s Radiolab.

Welcome to Havel Week at Lib​er​tar​i​an​ism​.org.

Transcript

LANDRY AYRES: At Georgetown University in Washington, DC, off a side street, up a flight of stairs, across Alumni Square, sit two chairs and a small round table in the shade of a linden tree. If you knew nothing about it , you might walk right past and not think twice, but this small seating area has a much larger significance. This is Havel’s Place.

Havel’s Place is part art installation and part commemorative monument in honor of poet, playwright, artist, and political dissident turned president of the Czech Republic, Václav Havel, one of the most important twentieth-​century figures in the struggle for freedom.

It was established here in Washington, DC in October 2013, and since then, dozens more have been created across the world; from Havel’s native Czech Republic, to Dublin, Barcelona, Oxford, Portland, Tel Aviv, and Lisbon to name a few.

But Havel’s Place is more than an art installation, a memorial, or simply a place to sit. Most importantly, it is an invitation to do what Havel believed was crucial-​-​to talk openly across ideological boundaries in hopes of creating a freer society.

This week, in honor of the 10-​year anniversary of the very first “Havel’s Place”, Lib​er​tar​i​an​ism​.org will be featuring content about Havel, his important role in speaking out against collectivism, and his principled advocacy for living a life of truth and authenticity. As we struggle for a better world that respects individuals, their rights, and their liberties, we hope you’ll check in with us to find podcasts, articles and interviews that mark this important week commemorating Václav Havel.

To find out more, visit us at Lib​er​tar​i​an​ism​.org.