What we do
ARC – Artists at Risk Connection 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.
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.
Senegal
Didier Awadi
Afghanistan
Zahra Abrahimi
Vietnam
Mai Khoi
Chad
Taigué Ahmed
Hong Kong
Franki C.
Nigeria
DJ Switch
Where we work
We support artists wherever they face danger or repression, working with more than 400 local and international partner organizations 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
INSTAGRAM FEED
James Broadnax is a poet, mentor, and artist. He is also scheduled to be executed in Texas on April 30 for a crime he did not commit.
This National Poetry Month, we are honored to share James reading his poem, Cloud View, recorded while incarcerated.
His words remind us of what is at stake. Art is an expression of humanity. It should never be used as evidence to silence, condemn, or execute.
Sign the petition at jamesbroadnax.org. Follow and tag @justiceforjamesbroadnax. Share your own video using #SaveJames.
#SaveJames #NationalPoetryMonth
#BlackArtists #ArtIsNotACrime #PoetryForJustice #EndTheDeathPenalty #PoetryMonth #ArtistsForJustice
James Broadnax is a poet, mentor, and artist. He is also scheduled to be executed in Texas on April 30 for a crime he did not commit.
This National Poetry Month, we are honored to share James reading his poem, Cloud View, recorded while incarcerated.
His words remind us of what is at stake. Art is an expression of humanity. It should never be used as evidence to silence, condemn, or execute.
Sign the petition at jamesbroadnax.org. Follow and tag @justiceforjamesbroadnax. Share your own video using #SaveJames.
#SaveJames #NationalPoetryMonth
#BlackArtists #ArtIsNotACrime #PoetryForJustice #EndTheDeathPenalty #PoetryMonth #ArtistsForJustice
Art is not neutral.
And it’s definitely not meant to be silenced.
Censorship in the arts is rising and artists are pushing back.
ARC is amplifying the UNDOXX Artist Hub in New York as part of our Artist Resilience Toolkit, creating space for artists to speak openly, build solidarity, and find one another in a moment that demands it ✊
Expect honest conversation, shared strategies, and real connection with artists who refuse to be quiet
Free and open to all 🆓
Wednesday, April 29
Brooklyn, NY
Find your people. Build what comes next.
Check out @_undoxx_ to register & for more details.
#ArtsCensorship #BrooklynArtists #ArtistResilience #CommunityBuilding #BrooklynArts #ArtistsSupportingArtists #CensorshipAwareness
@nyculture @ncacensorship @dontdelete.art @1acommittee @ihrartmovement @nyfacurrent
Art is not neutral.
And it’s definitely not meant to be silenced.
Censorship in the arts is rising and artists are pushing back.
ARC is amplifying the UNDOXX Artist Hub in New York as part of our Artist Resilience Toolkit, creating space for artists to speak openly, build solidarity, and find one another in a moment that demands it ✊
Expect honest conversation, shared strategies, and real connection with artists who refuse to be quiet
Free and open to all 🆓
Wednesday, April 29
Brooklyn, NY
Find your people. Build what comes next.
Check out @_undoxx_ to register & for more details.
#ArtsCensorship #BrooklynArtists #ArtistResilience #CommunityBuilding #BrooklynArts #ArtistsSupportingArtists #CensorshipAwareness
@nyculture @ncacensorship @dontdelete.art @1acommittee @ihrartmovement @nyfacurrent
🇲🇰 All the way to Skopje
On 29–30 April 2026, On the Move’s FREE Cultural (@otm.network) Mobility Forum brings together artists, cultural professionals, funders, and policymakers to explore cultural mobility justice.
Who gets to move, create, and participate freely in today’s cultural landscape?
From visa barriers to systemic inequities, this year’s Forum looks at the structures shaping global exchange, with a focus on Southeast Europe and urgent global challenges.
Through keynotes, panels, peer exchange, and cultural visits, the Forum creates space to question and reimagine mobility.
📍 Skopje, North Macedonia
📅 29–30 April 2026
Attendance is FREE, but registration is required by 24 April. Don`t miss out on this opportunity!
Register now via the link in @otm.network’s bio.
#CulturalMobility #CreativeFreedom #ArtForChange #SkopjeEvents #CulturalMobility #ArtistMobility
🇲🇰 All the way to Skopje
On 29–30 April 2026, On the Move’s FREE Cultural (@otm.network) Mobility Forum brings together artists, cultural professionals, funders, and policymakers to explore cultural mobility justice.
Who gets to move, create, and participate freely in today’s cultural landscape?
From visa barriers to systemic inequities, this year’s Forum looks at the structures shaping global exchange, with a focus on Southeast Europe and urgent global challenges.
Through keynotes, panels, peer exchange, and cultural visits, the Forum creates space to question and reimagine mobility.
📍 Skopje, North Macedonia
📅 29–30 April 2026
Attendance is FREE, but registration is required by 24 April. Don`t miss out on this opportunity!
Register now via the link in @otm.network’s bio.
#CulturalMobility #CreativeFreedom #ArtForChange #SkopjeEvents #CulturalMobility #ArtistMobility
Didier Awadi (@awadimusic) didn’t set out to make protest music.
What began as making music with friends became something more. A voice, a responsibility, and eventually, a movement. From rapping in Wolof to connect with his community, to mobilizing young voters during Senegal’s historic 2000 election, his work shows how music can shape not just culture, but history.
Today, his message still resonates. He speaks on sovereignty, democracy, and the power of people to define their own future.
“When you have a microphone… you have a duty to act.”
Read more about his story at the link in our bio.
#WolofRap #ArtistSpotlight #PoliticalRap #SenegalCulture #MusicAndActivism #HipHopForChange #AfricanArtists #SenegalMusic #AfricanHipHop #DidierAwadi
Didier Awadi (@awadimusic) didn’t set out to make protest music.
What began as making music with friends became something more. A voice, a responsibility, and eventually, a movement. From rapping in Wolof to connect with his community, to mobilizing young voters during Senegal’s historic 2000 election, his work shows how music can shape not just culture, but history.
Today, his message still resonates. He speaks on sovereignty, democracy, and the power of people to define their own future.
“When you have a microphone… you have a duty to act.”
Read more about his story at the link in our bio.
#WolofRap #ArtistSpotlight #PoliticalRap #SenegalCulture #MusicAndActivism #HipHopForChange #AfricanArtists #SenegalMusic #AfricanHipHop #DidierAwadi
Artist Opportunity: Transitional Justice with Artists Grant
Artists play a critical role in how societies remember, process, and respond to injustice.
The Transitional Justice with Artists Grant supports cultural practitioners working at the intersection of art, memory, and human rights — offering funding, a residency in Amsterdam, and access to an international network.
Who it’s for:
Artists, cultural practitioners, and initiatives based in Europe (including EU & Creative Europe countries)
Working on justice, accountability, memory, and community healing
What it offers:
• €10,000 grant
• 6-month fellowship
• Residency in Amsterdam
• Publishing opportunity + international network
Deadline: May 2, 2026
⚠️ Applications are capped at 500, current count 107 — early submission is strongly encouraged
This opportunity reflects a growing recognition that artistic practice is essential to truth-telling, repair, and collective healing — especially in contexts shaped by conflict, repression, or systemic injustice.
Learn more & apply in the link in @afieldfellowship`s bio.
Run by @afieldfellowship, @arts_of_the_working_class, @framerframed
#ArtistOpportunities #CreativeFreedom #ArtForChange #OpenCall #SupportArtists #ArtistResilienceToolkit
Artist Opportunity: Transitional Justice with Artists Grant
Artists play a critical role in how societies remember, process, and respond to injustice.
The Transitional Justice with Artists Grant supports cultural practitioners working at the intersection of art, memory, and human rights — offering funding, a residency in Amsterdam, and access to an international network.
Who it’s for:
Artists, cultural practitioners, and initiatives based in Europe (including EU & Creative Europe countries)
Working on justice, accountability, memory, and community healing
What it offers:
• €10,000 grant
• 6-month fellowship
• Residency in Amsterdam
• Publishing opportunity + international network
Deadline: May 2, 2026
⚠️ Applications are capped at 500, current count 107 — early submission is strongly encouraged
This opportunity reflects a growing recognition that artistic practice is essential to truth-telling, repair, and collective healing — especially in contexts shaped by conflict, repression, or systemic injustice.
Learn more & apply in the link in @afieldfellowship`s bio.
Run by @afieldfellowship, @arts_of_the_working_class, @framerframed
#ArtistOpportunities #CreativeFreedom #ArtForChange #OpenCall #SupportArtists #ArtistResilienceToolkit
What does it mean to belong to more than one place, and fully to none?
Rancor (2026), directed by Carlos Alejandro Halley (@carlosalejandrohalley) and edited by CMARF fellow Fernando Fraguela Fosado (@palenque_films), reflects on exile through three geographies: Madrid, Miami, and a family home in Cuba that no longer holds the same life it once did.
Premiering April 14 at the Miami Film Festival (@miamifilm), the film is part of a series capturing the emotional and political realities shaping contemporary Cuban life.
A quiet, personal meditation on memory, distance, and the spaces that stay with us.
📍 Koubek Center, Miami
🕗 8 PM
Reserve your seat through the link in our bio.
—
¿Qué significa pertenecer a más de un lugar, y completamente a ninguno?
Rancor (2026), dirigido por Carlos Alejandro Halley y editado por el becario de CMARF Fernando Fraguela Fosado, reflexiona sobre el exilio a través de tres geografías: Madrid, Miami y una casa familiar en Cuba que ya no guarda la misma vida de antes.
Con estreno el 14 de abril en el Miami Film Festival, el filme forma parte de una serie que captura las realidades emocionales y políticas que atraviesan la Cuba contemporánea.
Una meditación íntima sobre la memoria, la distancia y los espacios que permanecen con nosotros.
📍 Koubek Center, Miami
🕗 8 PM
Reserva tu lugar a través del enlace en nuestra bio.
What does it mean to belong to more than one place, and fully to none?
Rancor (2026), directed by Carlos Alejandro Halley (@carlosalejandrohalley) and edited by CMARF fellow Fernando Fraguela Fosado (@palenque_films), reflects on exile through three geographies: Madrid, Miami, and a family home in Cuba that no longer holds the same life it once did.
Premiering April 14 at the Miami Film Festival (@miamifilm), the film is part of a series capturing the emotional and political realities shaping contemporary Cuban life.
A quiet, personal meditation on memory, distance, and the spaces that stay with us.
📍 Koubek Center, Miami
🕗 8 PM
Reserve your seat through the link in our bio.
—
¿Qué significa pertenecer a más de un lugar, y completamente a ninguno?
Rancor (2026), dirigido por Carlos Alejandro Halley y editado por el becario de CMARF Fernando Fraguela Fosado, reflexiona sobre el exilio a través de tres geografías: Madrid, Miami y una casa familiar en Cuba que ya no guarda la misma vida de antes.
Con estreno el 14 de abril en el Miami Film Festival, el filme forma parte de una serie que captura las realidades emocionales y políticas que atraviesan la Cuba contemporánea.
Una meditación íntima sobre la memoria, la distancia y los espacios que permanecen con nosotros.
📍 Koubek Center, Miami
🕗 8 PM
Reserva tu lugar a través del enlace en nuestra bio.
#Cuba has announced the release of more than 2,000 individuals in recent weeks—but serious concerns remain.
ARC – Artists at Risk Connection, @peninternational, and @crdefenders stress that these announcements lack transparency and fall far short of international human rights standards. Independent verification suggests that only a small number of people detained for political reasons have actually been released. Partial, opaque measures cannot mask a broader pattern: the continued use of detention and imprisonment to silence critical voices on the island.
We call for the immediate and unconditional release of all imprisoned artists and for an end to the misuse of the legal system as a tool of repression.
Art is not a crime. Stand with Cuban artists at risk.
📢 Speak out & share!
**************************
#Cuba ha anunciado la liberación de más de 2,000 individuos en semanas recientes, pero persisten preocupaciones graves.
ARC – Artists at Risk Connection, @peninternational y @crdefenders enfatizan que estos anuncios carecen de transparencia y están muy lejos de los estándares internacionales sobre derechos humanos. Verificaciones independientes sugieren que solo un pequeño número de personas detenidas por motivos políticos ha sido realmente liberado. Medidas parciales y opacas, no pueden enmascarar un patrón más amplio: el uso continuado de la detención y el encarcelamiento para silenciar voces críticas en la isla.
Hacemos un llamado a la liberación inmediata e incondicional de todos los artistas encarcelados, y al fin del uso indebido del sistema legal como herramienta de represión.
El arte no es un delito. Solidarízate con los artistas cubanos en riesgo.
📢 ¡Alza la voz y comparte!
#Cuba #SOSCuba #FreedomForArtists #CubanArtistsAtRisk #DerechosHumanos #LibertadArtística #RepresiónCuba #LibertadParaTodos #ArtisticFreedom #CubanArtists #LibertadParaTodosLosPresosPoliticos #Libertad #ArtIsNotACrime #patriayvida #Artivismo #ArtistasEnRiesgo #SanIsidroMovement
#Cuba has announced the release of more than 2,000 individuals in recent weeks—but serious concerns remain.
ARC – Artists at Risk Connection, @peninternational, and @crdefenders stress that these announcements lack transparency and fall far short of international human rights standards. Independent verification suggests that only a small number of people detained for political reasons have actually been released. Partial, opaque measures cannot mask a broader pattern: the continued use of detention and imprisonment to silence critical voices on the island.
We call for the immediate and unconditional release of all imprisoned artists and for an end to the misuse of the legal system as a tool of repression.
Art is not a crime. Stand with Cuban artists at risk.
📢 Speak out & share!
**************************
#Cuba ha anunciado la liberación de más de 2,000 individuos en semanas recientes, pero persisten preocupaciones graves.
ARC – Artists at Risk Connection, @peninternational y @crdefenders enfatizan que estos anuncios carecen de transparencia y están muy lejos de los estándares internacionales sobre derechos humanos. Verificaciones independientes sugieren que solo un pequeño número de personas detenidas por motivos políticos ha sido realmente liberado. Medidas parciales y opacas, no pueden enmascarar un patrón más amplio: el uso continuado de la detención y el encarcelamiento para silenciar voces críticas en la isla.
Hacemos un llamado a la liberación inmediata e incondicional de todos los artistas encarcelados, y al fin del uso indebido del sistema legal como herramienta de represión.
El arte no es un delito. Solidarízate con los artistas cubanos en riesgo.
📢 ¡Alza la voz y comparte!
#Cuba #SOSCuba #FreedomForArtists #CubanArtistsAtRisk #DerechosHumanos #LibertadArtística #RepresiónCuba #LibertadParaTodos #ArtisticFreedom #CubanArtists #LibertadParaTodosLosPresosPoliticos #Libertad #ArtIsNotACrime #patriayvida #Artivismo #ArtistasEnRiesgo #SanIsidroMovement
🚨 #VocesPresas: Nando OBDC is a rapper, graffiti artist, and activist imprisoned in Cuba for his artistic expression.
Detained on December 31, 2024, he was sentenced to five years in prison.
Through his work, from music to graffiti art, he has consistently advocated for artistic freedom and used his creativity as a means for dissent.
For this, he has been subjected to surveillance, harassment, threats, and repeated arbitrary detentions.
This campaign, led by ARC in collaboration with @peninternational and @crdefenders, denounces the criminalization of artistic dissent in Cuba and calls for his immediate release.
📢 Raise awareness and share this video
Cuban artists need your support!
🔗 Check out the link in ARC`s bio to learn more about Nando`s case and the #VocesPresas campaign.
*********************************************************
🚨 #VocesPresas: Nando OBDC es un rapero, grafitero y activista encarcelado en Cuba por su expresión artística.
Fue detenido el 31 de diciembre de 2024 y condenado a cinco años de prisión.
A través de su obra, que va desde la música al grafiti, ha defendido consistentemente la libertad artística y usado su creatividad como un medio para el disenso.
Por ello ha sido objeto de vigilancia, hostigamiento, amenazas y detenciones arbitrarias reiteradas.
Esta campaña, liderada por ARC en colaboración con @peninternational y @crdefenders, denuncia la criminalización del disenso artístico en Cuba y exige su liberación inmediata.
📢 Ayuda a difundir - Comparte este video
¡Los artistas cubanos necesitan tu apoyo!
🔗 Consulta el enlace en la biografía de ARC para obtener más información sobre el caso de Nando y la campaña #VocesPresas.
#Cuba #SOSCuba #FreedomForArtists #CubanArtistsAtRisk #DerechosHumanos #LibertadArtística #RepresiónCuba #LibertadParaTodos #ArtisticFreedom #CubanArtists #LibertadParaTodosLosPresosPoliticos #Libertad #ArtIsNotACrime #patriayvida #Artivismo #ArtistasEnRiesgo #SanIsidroMovement
🚨 #VocesPresas: Nando OBDC is a rapper, graffiti artist, and activist imprisoned in Cuba for his artistic expression.
Detained on December 31, 2024, he was sentenced to five years in prison.
Through his work, from music to graffiti art, he has consistently advocated for artistic freedom and used his creativity as a means for dissent.
For this, he has been subjected to surveillance, harassment, threats, and repeated arbitrary detentions.
This campaign, led by ARC in collaboration with @peninternational and @crdefenders, denounces the criminalization of artistic dissent in Cuba and calls for his immediate release.
📢 Raise awareness and share this video
Cuban artists need your support!
🔗 Check out the link in ARC`s bio to learn more about Nando`s case and the #VocesPresas campaign.
*********************************************************
🚨 #VocesPresas: Nando OBDC es un rapero, grafitero y activista encarcelado en Cuba por su expresión artística.
Fue detenido el 31 de diciembre de 2024 y condenado a cinco años de prisión.
A través de su obra, que va desde la música al grafiti, ha defendido consistentemente la libertad artística y usado su creatividad como un medio para el disenso.
Por ello ha sido objeto de vigilancia, hostigamiento, amenazas y detenciones arbitrarias reiteradas.
Esta campaña, liderada por ARC en colaboración con @peninternational y @crdefenders, denuncia la criminalización del disenso artístico en Cuba y exige su liberación inmediata.
📢 Ayuda a difundir - Comparte este video
¡Los artistas cubanos necesitan tu apoyo!
🔗 Consulta el enlace en la biografía de ARC para obtener más información sobre el caso de Nando y la campaña #VocesPresas.
#Cuba #SOSCuba #FreedomForArtists #CubanArtistsAtRisk #DerechosHumanos #LibertadArtística #RepresiónCuba #LibertadParaTodos #ArtisticFreedom #CubanArtists #LibertadParaTodosLosPresosPoliticos #Libertad #ArtIsNotACrime #patriayvida #Artivismo #ArtistasEnRiesgo #SanIsidroMovement
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