In collaboration with the Nelson Mandela Foundation

Fifty of the most interesting and inspiring people in the world talk about freedom, their personal struggles to find it, and what it means to them.

FREE is an ambitious international publishing, film and exhibition project founded on original interviews and portraits with fifty interesting and inspiring individuals from around the world – people who are embracing Nelson Mandela’s ethos of:

Featuring artists, athletes, musicians, writers, actors, activists and community leaders from around the world, FREE explores the personal journeys, struggles and responsibilities that shape our understanding of freedom. Rather than offering a single definition, the project presents a rich tapestry of lived experience – stories of overcoming adversity, extending compassion, serving others and discovering purpose.

Conceived by New Zealand social entrepreneur Lisa King in partnership with the Nelson Mandela Foundation, Blackwell & Ruth and acclaimed photographer Magdalena Wosinska, The Free Project is part-social movement, part-cultural institution – bringing together fifty of the world’s most inspiring and compelling people in honest conversation about freedom, their personal struggles to find it, and what it means to them.

FREE will be the basis for a book, exhibition and documentary film or series scheduled for release in 2027. All royalties from sales will go to the Nelson Mandela Foundation to support its work in mobilising Nelson Mandela’s legacy through dialogue, memory, leadership and advocacy in pursuit of more just, equitable and democratic societies.