( CNN ) -- Madonna wants you to start a revolution . The superstar spoke to CNN 's Anderson Cooper on Thursday about her new project , Art for Freedom . With it , she is inviting fans to submit original video , music , poetry and photography to fight oppression , intolerance and complacency through art . Through Art for Freedom , she explains , `` We have created this platform to give people around the world an opportunity to answer the question : 'What does freedom mean to you ? ' `` `` I 'm encouraging other people , whether they 're professionals or not , to use their creativity to express themselves , to get a conversation going , to get the party started , really , '' Madonna told Cooper . In September , Madonna revealed what was then only known as # secretprojectrevolution in 10 cities , including Los Angeles and New York City . Those in attendance were treated to a `` call to action '' film the singer created with photographer Steven Klein , in partnership with VICE Media and BitTorrent . Cooper caught up with a relaxed Madonna , who joked that she was suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder after a grueling workout . But the artist was clearly passionate about the subject and even asked her son Rocco to wait a moment while the interview ran long . Cooper and Madonna had a wide-ranging conversation , touching upon her favorite quote from author James Baldwin ( `` I do n't separate the human spirit from the artistic spirit '' ) to what ever happened to that Boy Scout uniform Madonna wore to the GLAAD awards earlier this year . ( Each of her kids claimed an article of clothing , but `` I kept the combat boots , '' Madonna said . `` I 'll need those for my revolution . '' ) Here are some highlights from the interview : . Anderson Cooper : I 've heard you call this project the most important thing you 've done , besides raising your children . Madonna : Yes . Obviously , I feel a great sense of responsibility being a good parent and raising my children . I do n't take that job very lightly . Who they are , what they become and what they contribute to the world is very important to me . No slacking in that area , thank god , but the same goes with this film . I 've put in I do n't know how many man hours , I 've poured my own money into it . Steven Klein has done the same . We 've done it for no financial gain , ( and ) also not to promote any product in particular . The only reason we 're doing this is because we want to shed light on subjects that need to have light shed on ( them ) . I do see that the world that we live in is collapsing to a certain extent , and civilization as we know it is caving in on itself . I believe that we are at a very low level of consciousness , and we do not know how to treat each other as human beings . We are caught up in our own lives , our own needs , our own ego gratification . I feel a strong sense of responsibility in delivering that message . Madonna : Get the fast facts . Cooper : It seems there is an optimism in what you 're doing . Madonna : Of course . I 'm doing it because I believe in the ultimate good of humanity , but a lot of times push has to come to shove . I think you 've noticed yourself over the years that , when do people really want to come to the rescue of others ? When there 's a catastrophe . When 9/11 happens , or when the floods happen in New Orleans , or when the bombs happened in Boston . What happens ? People come together . Suddenly , people say , what can I do to help ? What can I do to be of service ? What I 'm trying to say is , why do we have to be pushed to the worst-case scenarios to bring out the best in ourselves to be the best version of ourselves that we can be ? Madonna is 2013 's top-earning celebrity . Cooper : I went to the opening of `` secretprojectrevolution '' in New York and you incorporated some words from James Baldwin . I 'm not quoting directly , but he said , only the artist can truly see and describe the human condition . I do n't think that 's something a lot of people really think about , but that 's something clearly you believe in very strongly -- that art can actually make a change in people 's lives . Madonna : I believe that . And I think that it used to make a much bigger change in people 's lives in the days when people were not censored . In the days when branding was n't in charge . Now , in order for people to get their stuff out there , they have to be associated with a brand and once you start associating with a brand , unfortunately , the brand starts to censor you . And then suddenly it 's not your pure vision anymore . Imagine if someone like John Lennon or Bob Marley , Sid Vicious , Picasso , whomever , were doing their work and some corporation , some CEO , some branding entity was saying to you , well you can do that , but you 've got to remove this aspect of your work . There would no longer be that purity anymore . We would n't have their gift . We would n't learn from what they had to share with us . I 'm all for noncensorship and freedom of expression . Enjoy Madonna 's Instagram video on her interview with Anderson Cooper as she gets a little housework done . Watch Anderson Cooper 360° weeknights 10pm ET . For the latest from AC360° click here .
Madonna has launched a new project called Art for Freedom . She talked Thursday with CNN 's Anderson Cooper about her project . She is encouraging people to fight oppression , intolerance and complacency through art . ` ` It 's the most important thing I ' ve ever done , besides raising my voice , '' Madonna says .