2003 年5月1日        張天宇在紐約市政廳公聽會   演講全文

 參議員閣下! 我的藝術家伙伴們!

  各位女士和紳士們!          

我是張天宇，現任台北市戶外藝術家聯盟理事長，我跟隨許多偉大藝術家的腳步，到紐約來豐富我的藝術生命，在我們的心目中，紐約是當今全球的中心，在這城市裏，來自全世界的藝術家可以伸展他們的才華，並創造藝術的幻想以及開始他們如小說般的藝術生活型態。                                 

什麼使紐約成為藝術朝聖的〝麥加〞? 不只是它集中許許多多的畫廊和博物館，更重要的是，它擔任下一代偉大藝術家的溫床，它並容許草根性的藝術在街上表演，總而言之，它的精髓是→ ”自由幻想”。

但紐約的偉大現在面臨危機!紐約市政府提議管制街道執照，以價高者得標的競投方式，這是扼殺了全市藝術家生存空間，孤絕了創作藝術工作以及小說式的浪漫生活序曲迫使藝術家紛紛離開街道，這種粗俗暴力不僅僅是榨乾了創作春天，也剝奪了藝術家自由表達的權力，而這些都是美國當初建國的理想。            

    紐約無論變成如何的安全，如何的乾淨，如何多采多姿，這城市將來若沒有自由幻想的精神，它將成為貧乏的心靈，空洞幽魂的行屍走肉，沒有任何活力可以超越藝術家在公共空間的街上大展他們的天賦。在藝術史上，有許多偉大的藝術家的名字誕生在戶外，如畢卡索、梵谷、和莫內------等等，戶外藝術家是上帝給我們禮物，我們必需小心翼翼的珍惜。

      我敬佩的參議員閣下! 歷史如今在您的手中! 我希望您能夠做一個決定，就是有一天，您能很驕傲的告訴您的孩子及孫子們:  我曾經救過扮演在世界文化中心角色的紐約! 使它繼續保持自由幻想精神的特色!                                  

    我來自一直把紐約當作世界文化的首都典範的台北，我希望當我回到家鄉時，我能告訴我的同胞紐約無愧於它的頭銜因為它知道如何維護面對自由幻想精神神聖地位的挑戰。

 ★    在此特別感謝: 哈佛大學教授  黃文政 (Wzhuang)  修改英文   

                               耶魯大學教授  郭強  矯正英文發音                    

  Honorable Senators, my fellow artists,

Ladies and Gentlemen :            

      My name is Chang Tien-Yu and I am the chairperson of the Taipei Outdoors Artists Associaton.  Following in the footsteps of many great artists, I came to New York to enrich my life in the arts. In our minds, New York is the center of the universe . It is in this city that artists from all over the world nurture their talents, create imaginative pieces

of art, and start novel artistic styles.

      What makes New York the Mecca of arts is not only its collection of galleries and museums, but more importantly, its role as an incubator for the next generation of artists, its tolerance for grassroots artistic activities on the street, and in all, its spirit of free imagination.         

      This greatness of New York is now in danger. The requirement of limited permits for the use of sidewalks proposed by the city administration would make it all but impossible for street artists to make a living, let alone creating artworks or starting novel styles. By forcing artists off the street, this harshness would not only dry up the spring of creativity, but also deprive the artists of their rights to free expression, which is inherent in the ideals of this nation.

      No matter how safe, how clean, and how colorful this city has become, New York without the spirit of free imagination would be poor in its heart and hollow in its soul.

      There is no more vibrant example of this spirit than the art display to the public on the streets.  For centuries, the public streets have been the birthplace of many great names in the arts, Picasso、 Van Gogh、 and Monet、 to name just a few. The streets to artists are gift from God that we should cherish.                                               

      My honorable senators, the history is in your hands. I hope you can make a decision that one day you can proudly tell your children and grandchildren that  “ I helped save New York as the cultural capital of the world by keeping its spirit of free imagination alive”

      The city I came from, Taipei, is looking up to New York as a model as the capital of  culture.  I hope by the time when I return to Taipei I can tell my people that New York deserves this title because it knows how to take the challenges in enshrining its spirit of free imagination.