International non-governmental organisation Freemuse has released their new report about the State of Artistic Freedom in 2023. On 110 pages, the report outlines the reality of artists caught up in conflict and unrest or those who are living under oppressive regimes.
“They were brought to trial, arrested, imprisoned, attacked, censored or even killed for standing up to authoritarianism, protesting war, challenging cultural and societal values through their art and taking part in movements for change” – Freemuse 2023
The report focuses on ten key countries, that in 2022 have proved to be restrictive towards freedom of artists and endangering for the artists lives. This includes China, Cuba, Egypt, Iran, Myanmar, Nigeria, Russia, Thailand, Türkiye and Ukraine.
Local and international media, human rights organisations as well as interviews with those who have been subject to abuse or their representatives served as sources of information for each country. Thus, it is important to mention that the report mainly reflects the “above the radar” assaults on artistic freedom, meaning the cases that were officially reported to the media or human rights organisations. While “under the radar” cases are harder to measure, factors that lead to such cases were also addressed.
Since the report aligns with the Compendiums research campaign “Barriers to Freedom of Artistic Expression” we have added the report to the background information section on our website.
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