What we do
Artists at Risk Connection (ARC) defends and advances the right to artistic freedom, providing practical resources and support to artists and cultural workers, so they can live and work safely, free from fear.
Protect
ARC provides direct assistance to at-risk artists and connects them with an international network of organizations and resources.
Advocate
ARC monitors, documents, and advocates for artists targeted for their creative expression, social justice efforts, or human rights work. ARC defends and promotes artistic freedom around the world.
Amplify
ARC raises awareness about the challenges facing artists and cultural workers, and leads global calls for safeguarding the right to artistic freedom through storytelling, campaigns, publications, podcasts, and events.
Where we work
We work wherever artists face danger or repression, collaborating with local and international partners to ensure that no creative voice is silenced, regardless of geography or circumstances.
Africa
Latin America & The Caribbean
Asia & The Pacific
Middle East & North Africa
Europe
North America
Featured news from ARC
Artist
stories
Stories of at-risk artists from all over the world who are committed to protecting their right to freedom of expression and using their art to fight for justice.
Nigeria
DJ Switch
Cuba
Luis Manuel Otero Alcántara
Saudi Arabia
Ms Saffaa
Myanmar, {Burma}
Thiha
United States
Dread Scott
Ukraine
Anna Kostritskaya
INSTAGRAM FEED
🇮🇷🖋 “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
🇮🇷🖋 “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
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/
🕊️🇵🇸 “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/
🇺🇸🛑“Eliminating the IMLS is a devastating blow to cultural institutions, especially those in underserved communities that rely on federal support.”
ARC is deeply concerned by the current U.S. administration’s latest Executive Order “eliminating” the only major federal agency dedicated to supporting museums–the Institute of Museum and Library Services (@us_imls)
This latest Order is part of the administration’s ongoing “reduction of the federal workforce” and efforts to exert greater influence over cultural institutions like the National Endowment for the Arts (@neaarts) and the National Endowment for the Humanities (@nehgov), as well as the president’s self-appointment as chairman of The Kennedy Center.
👉Read our full statement:
https://artistsatriskconnection.org/statement/arc-condemns-executive-order-eliminating-federal-museum-agency/
#artisticfreedom @penamerica @museumdirectors
🇺🇸🛑“Eliminating the IMLS is a devastating blow to cultural institutions, especially those in underserved communities that rely on federal support.”
ARC is deeply concerned by the current U.S. administration’s latest Executive Order “eliminating” the only major federal agency dedicated to supporting museums–the Institute of Museum and Library Services (@us_imls)
This latest Order is part of the administration’s ongoing “reduction of the federal workforce” and efforts to exert greater influence over cultural institutions like the National Endowment for the Arts (@neaarts) and the National Endowment for the Humanities (@nehgov), as well as the president’s self-appointment as chairman of The Kennedy Center.
👉Read our full statement:
https://artistsatriskconnection.org/statement/arc-condemns-executive-order-eliminating-federal-museum-agency/
#artisticfreedom @penamerica @museumdirectors
📢 🇦🇫Join the International Civil Society Action Network (ICAN) for an evening of culture, resilience, and resistance.
Tomorrow, ICAN and its partners will gather in NYC to honor Afghan women #peacebuilders at “Watan e Ma – Our Homeland: Women of Afghanistan Keeping the Flame of Freedom Alive.”
🌱Coinciding with #Nowruz, a celebration of renewal now banned in Afghanistan, the event will celebrate Afghan women`s courage and resistance in their pursuit of a new day of peace, freedom, and equality.
Cultural performances, an art exhibit, teach-ins, and film screenings, will serve to amplify their voices and celebrate their leadership in one of the world’s most challenging contexts.
📅 March 17, 2025 | 3 PM - 9 PM
📍 Blue Gallery, NYC
🔗 RSVP at: https://icanpeacework.org/2025/02/watan-e-ma-our-homeland/
#WataneMaAfghanistan #OurHomelandAfghanistan
📢 🇦🇫Join the International Civil Society Action Network (ICAN) for an evening of culture, resilience, and resistance.
Tomorrow, ICAN and its partners will gather in NYC to honor Afghan women #peacebuilders at “Watan e Ma – Our Homeland: Women of Afghanistan Keeping the Flame of Freedom Alive.”
🌱Coinciding with #Nowruz, a celebration of renewal now banned in Afghanistan, the event will celebrate Afghan women`s courage and resistance in their pursuit of a new day of peace, freedom, and equality.
Cultural performances, an art exhibit, teach-ins, and film screenings, will serve to amplify their voices and celebrate their leadership in one of the world’s most challenging contexts.
📅 March 17, 2025 | 3 PM - 9 PM
📍 Blue Gallery, NYC
🔗 RSVP at: https://icanpeacework.org/2025/02/watan-e-ma-our-homeland/
#WataneMaAfghanistan #OurHomelandAfghanistan
🇺🇸🇵🇸ARC and TransCultural Exchange (@transculturalexchange) strongly condemn far-right, Jewish nationalist group Betar US’ targeting of award-winning Palestinian poet Mosab Abu Toha (@mosab_abutoha) on social media, including its demand for his deportation.
The group also claims credit for the Trump Administration’s detention and threatened deportation of recently graduated Palestinian Columbia University student Mahmoud Khalil.
This latest threat to Abu Toha must be considered a grave and present danger.
Read our statement!
https://artistsatriskconnection.org/statement/palestinian-poet-mosab-abu-toha-threatened-by-jewish-nationalist-group/
@penamerica @peninternational @syracuseu @aclu_nationwide #freemahmoudkhalil
🇺🇸🇵🇸ARC and TransCultural Exchange (@transculturalexchange) strongly condemn far-right, Jewish nationalist group Betar US’ targeting of award-winning Palestinian poet Mosab Abu Toha (@mosab_abutoha) on social media, including its demand for his deportation.
The group also claims credit for the Trump Administration’s detention and threatened deportation of recently graduated Palestinian Columbia University student Mahmoud Khalil.
This latest threat to Abu Toha must be considered a grave and present danger.
Read our statement!
https://artistsatriskconnection.org/statement/palestinian-poet-mosab-abu-toha-threatened-by-jewish-nationalist-group/
@penamerica @peninternational @syracuseu @aclu_nationwide #freemahmoudkhalil
🛑🇺🇸“The administration’s abrupt decision to terminate and indefinitely suspend dozens of fine arts and preservation workers…places irreplaceable pieces of our national heritage at risk.”
ARC is deeply alarmed by reports that a majority of federal workers in the General Service Administration’s (GSA) fine arts and preservation department have been fired, as part of an ongoing purge of the federal workforce by the current U.S. administration.
Read our statement! https://artistsatriskconnection.org/statement/arc-warns-of-irreparable-damage-to-cultural-heritage-amid-gsa-layoffs/
@ncacensorship @aclu_nationwide @thefireorg
Artwork: "Flamingo" (1973), Alexander Calder.
🛑🇺🇸“The administration’s abrupt decision to terminate and indefinitely suspend dozens of fine arts and preservation workers…places irreplaceable pieces of our national heritage at risk.”
ARC is deeply alarmed by reports that a majority of federal workers in the General Service Administration’s (GSA) fine arts and preservation department have been fired, as part of an ongoing purge of the federal workforce by the current U.S. administration.
Read our statement! https://artistsatriskconnection.org/statement/arc-warns-of-irreparable-damage-to-cultural-heritage-amid-gsa-layoffs/
@ncacensorship @aclu_nationwide @thefireorg
Artwork: "Flamingo" (1973), Alexander Calder.
✊✨As part of their organizational launch @FreeOurArtHQ has asked fellow creative free expression organizations to share this graphic, and to comment on why artistic freedom matters.
Our art should never be used against us!
Learn more: www.freeourart.org #FreeOurArt
✊✨As part of their organizational launch @FreeOurArtHQ has asked fellow creative free expression organizations to share this graphic, and to comment on why artistic freedom matters.
Our art should never be used against us!
Learn more: www.freeourart.org #FreeOurArt
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