One year into artist Gao Zhen’s ongoing detention in China, ARC, HRF and civil society partners condemn his ongoing imprisonment and the exit ban placed on his wife. We urge for his immediate release and the safe return of his family to the United States.

Gao was detained in Hebei province in Northern China on Aug 26, 2024, after police raided his Yanjiao studio and seized artworks. He is accused of “slandering heroes and martyrs” under the 2018 Heroes and Martyrs Law, raising concerns of retroactive prosecution.

Gao’s wife remains under an exit ban on “national security” grounds. Their 7-year-old son, a US citizen, has been unable to return to his home and schooling in New York, as his parents are barred from leaving China. With trial proceedings expected soon, Gao, 69, has refused a plea deal despite serious health issues.
Gao`s case underscores the urgent need for international attention to protect artistic freedom, children’s rights, and those facing transnational repression.

Read our joint statement:
https://artistsatriskconnection.org/statement/joint-statement-on-the-first-anniversary-of-gao-zhens-detention-demanding-his-urgent-release/

@hrf @channeldraw #freegaozhen ...

ARC has signed Cultural Freedom Demands Collective Courage: A Nation-wide Statement of Values and Principles for the Field of Art and Culture!

In the face of increasing threats to artistic and intellectual freedom in the United States, the Statement reaffirms the arts sector’s commitment to retain programmatic independence and resist pressures of institutional self-censorship, which is the only way to ensure that future generations inherit robust cultural institutions that stimulate the imagination, engender free thinking, and incubate new futures.

ARC is grateful to be one of the key cultural organizations and leaders that spearheaded this crucial initiative.

Upon its publication, the Statement has more than 275 individual signatories working across the art and culture sector, as well as over 150 cultural institutions.
There is still time to sign and show your support!

👉JOIN US at https://www.collective-courage.com/
#CollectiveCourage @ncacensorship @veralistcenter ...

“While this does not come as a surprise–given the current administration’s established pattern of placing highly partisan, ideological conditions on federally-funded cultural institutions–we are taken aback by the sheer brazenness of this attack.”

ARC is deeply outraged by the Trump administration’s “comprehensive review” of all Smithsonian materials and threats to replace those deemed “divisive” within 120 days.

This latest attack on the autonomy of the Smithsonian follows a series of highly partisan actions, including changes to grant requirements for the National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) and the National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH), as well as the president’s self-appointment as chairman of the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts.

Read our full statement:
https://artistsatriskconnection.org/statement/arc-condemns-presidential-audit-undermining-smithsonian-autonomy/

@penamerica @peninternational @ncacensorship ...

“When Congress and the city of Chicago intend to outlaw your work, it shows the power of art, but also the extraordinary lengths [to which] the government is willing to go, including ripping up its own Constitution, to suppress the voice of a previously unknown undergraduate art student.”

— Dread Scott, ARC Safety Guide contributor and Dangerous Art, Endangered Artists Summit participant.

Learn more about Dread’s insights and those of the other eight artists interviewed for “What Happened When Their Art Was Banned” in The New York Times. These crucial accounts of navigating, and learning to overcome censorship are particularly relevant as the pressures facing artists across the country continue to mount: https://www.nytimes.com/2025/07/31/t-magazine/artists-censorship-book-bans.html?smid=nytcore-android-share

Read Dread’s profile in ARC’s Safety Guide for Artists: https://artistsatriskconnection.org/safety-guide-profile/dread-scott/

Credit: "What is the Proper Way to Display a US Flag?" (Installation for audience participation,) 1989. Image courtesy of the artist.

@dreadscottart @nytimes ...

This week marks 4 years since poet and #FreedomToWrite Award honoree Galal El-Behairy should have been released from prison. Despite finishing an unjust 3-year sentence for his writing in 2021, he remains unlawfully detained in Egypt to this day.

Alongside ARC and 9 other human rights organizations, PEN America sent a joint letter urging the Egyptian Ambassador to the U.S. Motaz Zahran to raise our concerns about El-Behairy’s detention to the relevant authorities in Cairo.

We demand El-Behairy’s immediate release and humane treatment in custody, including access to medical care, legal counsel, and books. His ongoing detention violates Egyptian and international law:

Read the joint letter with @penamerica @pen_canada @peninternational @officialfreedomhouse, المنبر المصري لحقوق اﻹنسان. @menarightsgroup @humenaorg @tahririnstitute, and Democracy for the Arab World Now - DAWN. #FreeGalal

https://artistsatriskconnection.org/statement/joint-letter-to-the-egyptian-ambassador-to-the-u-s-urging-action-on-the-ongoing-detention-of-galal-el-behairy/ ...

“It feels like the world has forgotten about us,” said artist Luis Manuel Otero Alcántara, who recently served four years of his sentence in a maximum-security Cuban prison.

Read Cuban-American artist, writer, and ARC "Dangerous Art, Endangered Artists" summit participant Coco Fusco`s moving profile on Cuban artist and political prisoner Luis Manuel Otero Alcántara. The artist has been unjustly imprisoned since he was arrested when anti-government protests swept the country.

https://hyperallergic.com/1028230/coco-fusco-dialogues-with-political-prisoner-luis-manuel-otero-alcantara/

#SOSCuba @peninternational @luismanuel.oteroalcantara @cocof_usco

Image credit: Carlos Martiel, “Untitled” (2025); Courtesy of the artist ...