#India 🇮🇳| Artists at Risk Connection (ARC) condemns charges raised against Kunal Kamra (@kuna_kamra) for his comedy and the ensuing attacks on The Habitat (@indiehabitat), a Mumbai cultural venue.

“The criminalization of comedy and the deliberate destruction of independent cultural spaces are a clear violation of the fundamental right to freedom of expression and cultural rights under international law. These repressive tactics stand in stark contrast to India’s democratic values and must be unequivocally condemned and halted.” commented in part ARC Executive Director Julie Trébault.

Last week, on 24 March, Kamra suffered through a police interrogation, eventually being charged with defamation. The complaint stems from the comedian referencing Maharashtra’s Deputy Chief Minister, Eknath Shinde, in his comedy set.

That same day, The Habitat, where Kamra performed his set, was vandalized by supporters of Shinde’s Shiv Sena party, with local authorities also demolishing part of the space.

Amid the alarming criminalization of artists and cultural spaces in India, ARC calls on local police in Mumbai to drop charges filed against the comedian Kunal Kamra and for the cessation of attacks against The Habitat.

👉Read our full statement: https://artistsatriskconnection.org/statement/arc-calls-on-indian-authorities-to-drop-charges-against-comedian/

@freemuse.98 @penamerica @peninternational ...

📢🇺🇸New Executive Order (EO) challenging the Smithsonian Institution (@smithsonian) “is yet another devastating blow to the autonomy of American national cultural institutions and sites,” commented in part ARC Executive Director Julie Trébault.

ARC raises grave concerns over the U.S. administration’s latest EO which seeks to exert ideological control over the country’s largest complex of museums and cultural and educational sites, the Smithsonian Institution, citing what the White House calls “anti-American ideology.” The EO directs senior-level executive branch officials to work with Congress to effectuate the directive, defunding programs and exhibitions that “degrade shared American values.”

Congress, civil rights groups, and cultural leaders must rally against this EO and uphold the Smithsonian’s indispensable role as a forum of open dialogue surrounding the nation’s history.

👉Read our full statement: https://artistsatriskconnection.org/statement/arc-condemns-executive-order-undermining-smithsonian-institutions-integrity/

@penamerica @ncacensorship ...

🇵🇸 We must protect and stand up for Palestinian filmmakers.

Yesterday, the International Coalition for Filmmakers at Risk (@filmmakersatrisk) published an urgent statement joining ARC and partners such as the European Film Academy (@europeanfilmacademy) and the International Documentary Association (@idaorg) to show support for the Palestinian filmmakers Hamdan Ballal and Abdallah Motan.

Motan, a Palestinian filmmaker and Ballal, an Oscar award winner for the film No Other Land, a moving documentary that demonstrates the destruction of the occupied West Bank, have both been subject to intense attacks and detentions due to their critical artistic work, identity, and activism. Ballal was released yesterday after being beaten and detained by Israeli settlers and soldiers. Motan was first unjustly detained in January and is currently in the Ofer Prison near Ramallah.

Israeli authorities must hold the Israeli settlers and soldiers responsible for the attack and abuse on Ballal accountable and immediately and unconditionally release Motan. Palestinian people and the artistic community must be protected and their fundamental rights upheld.

👉 To read ARC’s statements on the appalling attacks and detentions of Ballal and Motan, visit:
https://artistsatriskconnection.org/statement/oscar-winning-palestinian-documentary-director-attacked-and-detained-by-israeli-settlers-and-soldiers/
or
https://artistsatriskconnection.org/statement/arc-demands-immediate-release-of-palestinian-filmmaker-abdallah-motan/

👉 For ICFR’s full statement and actions you can take to support, visit:
https://www.icfr.international/cases/stand-up-for-hamdan-and-abdallah/

@filmlabpalestine @penamerica @sundanceorg @idfafestival @cinemadureel @tiff_net @freemuse.98 ...

🎥🌟ARC was truly honored to host the Art of Exile Series Documentary Screening and Performance Event in February on Zoom.

The screening of three breathtaking short films by directors Dara Kell (@darakell) and Veena Rao (@msveenarao) was be followed by live performances from featured artists Mai Khoi (@mai.khoi) and Ahmed Naji, and a reading from Moath al-Alwi’s lawyer, Beth Jacob.

The three films reveal an intimate portrait of artists displaced by war and censorship, navigating their lives and rebuilding their identities in exile.

Watch the panel event on Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p2PBL-Tw_Vw&rco=1 ...

📢 Today, ARC condemned the brutal attack and detention of Oscar-winning Palestinian documentary director Hamdan Ballal, reportedly carried out by Israeli settlers and soldiers.

The attack took place on 24 March in the village of Susya in the Masafer Yatta region as part of an “apparent organized and premeditated” assault. Ballal was beaten and, while being treated in an ambulance, was blindfolded and taken by Israeli soldiers to an unknown location. His whereabouts remained unknown for several hours until his lawyer confirmed he was being held at a military base.

“This blatant effort to silence Palestinian voices, especially those who speak truth through art, cannot go unchecked. We are relieved to see Hamdan Ballal released from custody, but urgently call on the Israeli authorities to guarantee his protection and hold the perpetrators to account,” shared ARC Executive Director Julie Trébault.

👉Read and share our statement to call for accountability and protection of Palestinian creatives: https://artistsatriskconnection.org/statement/oscar-winning-palestinian-documentary-director-attacked-and-detained-by-israeli-settlers-and-soldiers/

@filmlabpalestine @penamerica @sundanceorg @idfafestival @cinemadureel @tiff_net @thenyff @lincolncenter @berlinale @cphdox @sydfilmfest @kviff @viffest ...

🇮🇷🖋 “I, as a female Iranian poet, see myself as a fighter whose weapons are words.” -Mahtab Yaghma (@mahtab.yaghma)

On World Poetry Day, ARC is spotlighting Iranian poet and women’s rights activist Mahtab Yaghma. Mahtab’s poetry about female sexuality and Iranian womanhood made her a target of the Iranian government’s censorship and harassment. After being forced into exile for involvement in protest movements in 2020, Mahtab moved from Iran to Turkey and then Germany with her young son alongside her.

Read Mahtab’s powerful story of using her poetry to fight patriarchal oppression and denounce violence against women here: https://artistsatriskconnection.org/artist-voice/mahtab-yaghma/

#womanlifefreedom ...

ARC welcomes the Miami Beach Mayor’s withdrawal of his resolution against O Cinema (@ocinema), which had proposed evicting and rescinding funding for the venue due to its screening of the documentary “No Other Land,” a film that explores the Israeli occupation of the West Bank.

Early last week, ARC and PEN America (@penamerica) condemned the proposed resolution, an action that sought to challenge institutional autonomy, implying “dangerous overreach that undermines democracy, threatens cultural institutions, and robs audiences of their right to make their own choices.” noted in part Julie Trébault, ARC Executive Director. “This is not only about one film, it’s about protecting the right of communities to engage with art that questions, critiques, and imagines a better future.”

ARC and its partners, such as National Coalition Against Censorship (@ncacensorship) and ACLU (@aclu_nationwide), remain attentive to the increasingly challenging state for artistic freedom nationwide - ARC renews its commitment to uplifting artists, cultural professionals, and institutions at risk for their work.

To read more and stay up to date on the situation, visit: https://pen.org/press-release/politicians-cant-dictate-what-stories-are-told-or-films-shown/
and
https://ncac.org/news/ncac-decries-miami-beachs-retaliation-against-o-cinema-for-screening-acclaimed-documentary

#artisticfreedom #artisnotacrime ...

🕊️🇵🇸 “But as it is said: Hope is not killed except by the death of the soul,” and art is my soul that will not die.” —Palestinian Artist Durgham Qreiqeh, killed in an Israeli airstrike on his home in Gaza on Tuesday, 18 March

ARC wholeheartedly condemns the indiscriminate Israeli attacks on Gaza in violation of the ceasefire agreement, resulting in the tragic killing of Palestinian visual artist Durgham Qreiqeh and his family, among 400 other reported casualties yesterday alone. Qreiqeh was a visual artist known for his work with children and on community-based projects with local organizations.

“The killing of artists is the deliberate destruction of culture, memory, and the stories that shape a people’s identity. After nearly a year and a half of relentless bombardment, ARC joins the vast majority of human rights organizations in calling for an end to this devastation and to allow Palestinians to rebuild in peace. Durgham’s legacy will live on in the impact he had on children, on his community, and in the art he created,” shared ARC’s Executive Director, Julie Trébault.

👉Read our full statement:
https://artistsatriskconnection.org/statement/palestinian-artist-durgham-qreiqeh-killed-in-israeli-airstrike-on-his-home-in-gaza/ ...