Firewall Internet Cafe

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FIREWALL Cafe is an art project launched in 2016 to shine a light on Google's search engine monopoly and China's suppression of free speech through Baidu, the primary Chinese search engine. FIREWALL is a socially engaged research and interactive art installation designed to foster public dialogue about Internet freedom. The goal of this art project is to investigate online censorship by comparing the disparities of Google searches in western countries versus Baidu searches in China.

One of the greatest privileges of showing FIREWALL Oslo Freedom Forum has been befriending the Gao Brothers—we met in 20...
09/02/2026

One of the greatest privileges of showing FIREWALL Oslo Freedom Forum has been befriending the Gao Brothers—we met in 2018 when we both exhibited in Oslo, Norway. In 2019, they hosted me at their Beijing studio, where we broke bread together and dancers improvised with their sculpture (swipe for video). What a sweet memory Gao Brothers
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This year, Gao Zhen received the Václav Havel International Prize for Creative Dissent from Human Rights Foundation (HRF) presented in his absence by Richard Gere. Gao remains imprisoned, sentenced to three years by a Sanhe City court for “infringing upon the reputation and honour of heroes and martyrs”, a 2018 law applied retroactively to sculptures he made in 2009.

FIREWALL Cafe created by 李玉瑾 𝘑𝘰𝘺𝘤𝘦 𝘠𝘶-𝘑𝘦𝘢𝘯 𝘓𝘦𝘦 exists to spotlight art under threat by state power, and the artists who refuse to be silenced.
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Art should never be a crime. Free Gao Zhen. 🎨✊

Another view of the FIREWALL Cafe interactive exhibit at Oslo Freedom Forum this past June, designed by the talented Luc...
07/14/2026

Another view of the FIREWALL Cafe interactive exhibit at Oslo Freedom Forum this past June, designed by the talented Lucian French. Drawing inspiration from the nostalgic aesthetics of early desktop computers and video games, the installation invited visitors to step inside FIREWALL Cafe and explore how search engines shape what we see—and what we don’t.

The exhibition introduced FIREWALL Cafe as an interactive art project created by 李玉瑾 𝘑𝘰𝘺𝘤𝘦 𝘠𝘶-𝘑𝘦𝘢𝘯 𝘓𝘦𝘦 in 2016 to spark public dialogue about internet freedom. For the last 10 years, the project has asked questions that remain just as urgent today: What does internet censorship look like? And what’s behind the firewall?
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As FIREWALL Cafe celebrates its 10th anniversary, we’re reflecting not only on what has changed online, but also on what continues to disappear.

Explore the FIREWALL Archive yourself—link in bio—and compare search results across time and across platforms. Add to our Archive by searching terms you are curious to see in China… We’d love to hear what you discover!

Huge thanks to the talented designer Lucian French for creating the playful and thoughtful Interactive Expo booth for FI...
07/14/2026

Huge thanks to the talented designer Lucian French for creating the playful and thoughtful Interactive Expo booth for FIREWALL Cafe at Oslo Freedom Forum.

Inspired by the retro digital landscapes of the Microsoft Windows desktop and Nintendo Super Mario Bros., the installation transforms Internet censorship into an interactive environment that invites visitors to explore the FIREWALL Archive.
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This year’s installation compared search results for three terms—“Taiwan Independence,” “Tiananmen Square Massacre,” and “Uyghur Genocide”—captured in 2016, 2019, and 2026 using both Google and Baidu. Viewing these image results side by side revealed how two very different information ecosystems shape public understanding: one through the censorship of an authoritarian state, the other through the ranking systems and commercial priorities of a dominant technology platform.

As FIREWALL Cafe continues to celebrate its 10th anniversary, we’re reflecting not only on what has changed online, but also on what continues to disappear.
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Try these searches yourself through the FIREWALL Archive—link in bio—and let us know what you discover.

06/01/2026

FIREWALL Cafe celebrates 10 years❣️
For a decade, this project by has created spaces where artists, activists, technologists, researchers, and strangers meet across political, geographic and cultural boundaries.

Tonight’s screening of “Invisible Visible 未见之见” continues that trajectory… a film about what can be seen, what is hidden, and the infrastructures that shape both.
📍 Vika Kino Movie Theater, Oslo, Norway
🕕 6–8 PM on Monday June 1st, 2026

06/01/2026

10 years of FIREWALL Cafe❣️

To mark a decade of conversations across art and technology about censorship, we gather tonight in Oslo for a screening of film, “Invisible Visible 未见之见”.

How do artists, journalists and hacktivists make censored realities perceptible?

Join us for an evening of film and collective reflection during Oslo Freedom Forum 2026.

📍 Vika Kino Movie Theater
🕕 6–8 PM on Monday June 1st, 2026
🎬 Invisible Visible (未见之见)

Thanks to everyone who sat down for a Search Session at FIREWALL Cafe today during the Pratt Institute Research Yard Ope...
04/17/2026

Thanks to everyone who sat down for a Search Session at FIREWALL Cafe today during the Pratt Institute Research Yard Open House! We found some very interesting searches and had fun conversation.

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