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.
Uganda
Trinah Kakyo
Colombia
Colectiva Mujeres Muralistas
Senegal
Didier Awadi
Afghanistan
Zahra Abrahimi
Vietnam
Mai Khoi
Chad
Taigué Ahmed
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
"When the world turns its attention to an event as large as the FIFA World Cup, artists often help us see what the spotlight leaves out."
Artists have long used major public events—from Olympic Games to World Cups—to reflect on the social and political questions they raise. Protecting their ability to do so is an essential part of artistic freedom.
As the 2026 FIFA World Cup unfolds, artists in Mexico and the United States are using their work to raise questions about the social realities surrounding the tournament—from housing and displacement to migration, public space, and community rights.
In Mexico, artist Vlocke Negro (@vlocke_negro) has transformed World Cup advertising into interventions that draw attention to issues including gentrification, water scarcity, displacement, and the ongoing crisis of disappearances. In the United States, artists across host cities have contributed to the “No ICE in the Cup” campaign (@noiceinthecup2026 ), using art to advocate for immigrant communities and raise concerns about the impact of immigration enforcement during the tournament.
Artistic freedom is not only the freedom to create. It is also the freedom to question, challenge, and make visible realities that might otherwise remain unseen.
🎥 Hear from Alessandro Zagato, ARC`s Regional Representative for Latin America, on why artistic freedom matters—especially when the world is watching.
This video references reporting by Cultura Mexicana (@culturamexicana) and The Art Newspaper (@theartnewspaper.official ) on artistic responses to the 2026 FIFA World Cup.
#ArtisticFreedom #WorldCup2026 #FreedomOfExpression #ArtistsAtRiskConnection #ArtForChange #CreativeFreedom #HumanRights #PublicArt #ArtistActivism
"When the world turns its attention to an event as large as the FIFA World Cup, artists often help us see what the spotlight leaves out."
Artists have long used major public events—from Olympic Games to World Cups—to reflect on the social and political questions they raise. Protecting their ability to do so is an essential part of artistic freedom.
As the 2026 FIFA World Cup unfolds, artists in Mexico and the United States are using their work to raise questions about the social realities surrounding the tournament—from housing and displacement to migration, public space, and community rights.
In Mexico, artist Vlocke Negro (@vlocke_negro) has transformed World Cup advertising into interventions that draw attention to issues including gentrification, water scarcity, displacement, and the ongoing crisis of disappearances. In the United States, artists across host cities have contributed to the “No ICE in the Cup” campaign (@noiceinthecup2026 ), using art to advocate for immigrant communities and raise concerns about the impact of immigration enforcement during the tournament.
Artistic freedom is not only the freedom to create. It is also the freedom to question, challenge, and make visible realities that might otherwise remain unseen.
🎥 Hear from Alessandro Zagato, ARC`s Regional Representative for Latin America, on why artistic freedom matters—especially when the world is watching.
This video references reporting by Cultura Mexicana (@culturamexicana) and The Art Newspaper (@theartnewspaper.official ) on artistic responses to the 2026 FIFA World Cup.
#ArtisticFreedom #WorldCup2026 #FreedomOfExpression #ArtistsAtRiskConnection #ArtForChange #CreativeFreedom #HumanRights #PublicArt #ArtistActivism
🇨🇺🔴CU URGENT: Release Luis Manuel Otero Alcántara
According to public reports, Cuban multidisciplinary artist Luis Manuel Otero Alcántara was removed from Guanajay prison on 7 July—just two days before the scheduled completion of his unjust five-year prison sentence—and transferred to an undisclosed location. At the time of publication, his whereabouts remain unknown.
Together with Civil Rights Defenders (@crdefenders), PEN International (@peninternational), and PEN Cuba in Exile Centre, ARC calls on the Cuban authorities to immediately and unconditionally release Luis Manuel, confirm his whereabouts, and guarantee his physical and psychological integrity.
Read our joint statement in the link in our bio.
#FreeLuisManuel #FreeLuisMa #LuisManuelOteroAlcantara #ArtisticFreedom #FreedomOfExpression #HumanRights #Cuba
@amnestyusa @museo_disidencia_en_cuba @00bienal @yanelys_nl @taniabruguera @cocof_usco @hrf @luismanuel.oteroalcantara @mov_sanisidro @penamerica
🇨🇺🔴CU URGENT: Release Luis Manuel Otero Alcántara
According to public reports, Cuban multidisciplinary artist Luis Manuel Otero Alcántara was removed from Guanajay prison on 7 July—just two days before the scheduled completion of his unjust five-year prison sentence—and transferred to an undisclosed location. At the time of publication, his whereabouts remain unknown.
Together with Civil Rights Defenders (@crdefenders), PEN International (@peninternational), and PEN Cuba in Exile Centre, ARC calls on the Cuban authorities to immediately and unconditionally release Luis Manuel, confirm his whereabouts, and guarantee his physical and psychological integrity.
Read our joint statement in the link in our bio.
#FreeLuisManuel #FreeLuisMa #LuisManuelOteroAlcantara #ArtisticFreedom #FreedomOfExpression #HumanRights #Cuba
@amnestyusa @museo_disidencia_en_cuba @00bienal @yanelys_nl @taniabruguera @cocof_usco @hrf @luismanuel.oteroalcantara @mov_sanisidro @penamerica
🌍 What does hospitality mean in a world where artists and researchers are increasingly displaced?
Last month in Paris, ARC Executive Director Julie Trébault co-moderated the roundtable From Impeded Research to Spaces of Hospitality with UXIL - Universités en exil. The roundtable, hosted by Campus Condorcet (@campuscondorcet). brought together scholars, artists, and international support organizations to discuss the realities of exile, restricted research, censorship, and the search for new spaces of collaboration.
Through shared experiences from across regions and disciplines, participants reflected on how knowledge continues to move across borders–even when the people producing it face systemic barriers, compounding threats, and displacement.
ARC was proud to participate in this timely conversation, which examined how institutions can better support creative and intellectual communities under pressure.
Because protecting freedom of expression means creating conditions where artists, researchers, and cultural workers can continue their work safely and with dignity.
Learn more at the link in the bio.
Photo credits: Campus Condorcet – Anaëlle Raguet.
#ArtistsAtRiskConnection #AcademicFreedom #ArtisticFreedom #KnowledgeInExile #FreedomOfExpression #Hospitality #GlobalSolidarity
🌍 What does hospitality mean in a world where artists and researchers are increasingly displaced?
Last month in Paris, ARC Executive Director Julie Trébault co-moderated the roundtable From Impeded Research to Spaces of Hospitality with UXIL - Universités en exil. The roundtable, hosted by Campus Condorcet (@campuscondorcet). brought together scholars, artists, and international support organizations to discuss the realities of exile, restricted research, censorship, and the search for new spaces of collaboration.
Through shared experiences from across regions and disciplines, participants reflected on how knowledge continues to move across borders–even when the people producing it face systemic barriers, compounding threats, and displacement.
ARC was proud to participate in this timely conversation, which examined how institutions can better support creative and intellectual communities under pressure.
Because protecting freedom of expression means creating conditions where artists, researchers, and cultural workers can continue their work safely and with dignity.
Learn more at the link in the bio.
Photo credits: Campus Condorcet – Anaëlle Raguet.
#ArtistsAtRiskConnection #AcademicFreedom #ArtisticFreedom #KnowledgeInExile #FreedomOfExpression #Hospitality #GlobalSolidarity
In Bogotá, women artists painted feminist memory onto city walls.
Again and again, the murals were censored, vandalized, and erased.
But again and again, they came back to repaint them.
What began as a local intervention became a larger struggle over public space, memory, and whose stories are allowed to remain visible.
Through the Galería Feminista, Colectiva Mujeres Muralistas (@colectivamujeresmuralistas) has transformed walls marked by fear into living archives honoring women leaders across Colombia and Latin America.
“We are striving to generate utopias…to show a future or the futures that we can move towards.”
Read the full story of Colectiva Mujeres Muralistas and the Galería Feminista at the link in bio.
#ColectivaMujeresMuralistas #GaleríaFeminista #FeministArt #Muralism #PublicArt #ArtAndResistance #ArtisticFreedom #WomenArtists #Colombia #Bogotá #ArtForChange #FreedomOfExpression #CreativeResistance #ArtistsAtRiskConnection #ArtistSpotlight
In Bogotá, women artists painted feminist memory onto city walls.
Again and again, the murals were censored, vandalized, and erased.
But again and again, they came back to repaint them.
What began as a local intervention became a larger struggle over public space, memory, and whose stories are allowed to remain visible.
Through the Galería Feminista, Colectiva Mujeres Muralistas (@colectivamujeresmuralistas) has transformed walls marked by fear into living archives honoring women leaders across Colombia and Latin America.
“We are striving to generate utopias…to show a future or the futures that we can move towards.”
Read the full story of Colectiva Mujeres Muralistas and the Galería Feminista at the link in bio.
#ColectivaMujeresMuralistas #GaleríaFeminista #FeministArt #Muralism #PublicArt #ArtAndResistance #ArtisticFreedom #WomenArtists #Colombia #Bogotá #ArtForChange #FreedomOfExpression #CreativeResistance #ArtistsAtRiskConnection #ArtistSpotlight
🎉 ¡Gracias a todas los artistas que participaron en nuestra encuesta para la comunidad de artistas cubanos en el exterior!
Entre quienes completaron la encuesta antes del 15 de mayo, realizamos un sorteo para seleccionar a la persona ganadora del estipendio de $100 USD.
Nos complace felicitar a Hebert Poll Gutiérrez (@hebertpoll), artista seleccionado para recibir el estipendio. ¡Muchas felicidades! ✨
Agradecemos profundamente a todas las personas que compartieron sus experiencias y perspectivas con ARC. Sus respuestas serán de gran ayuda para orientar futuras iniciativas, oportunidades y programas de apoyo para la comunidad artística cubana.
🫶 Gracias por formar parte de esta comunidad y por ayudarnos a fortalecer nuestro trabajo.
#ArtistasCubanos #ComunidadArtística #EncuestaArtística #ArteCubano #CulturaCubana #IniciativasCulturales #ApoyoAlArte
🎉 ¡Gracias a todas los artistas que participaron en nuestra encuesta para la comunidad de artistas cubanos en el exterior!
Entre quienes completaron la encuesta antes del 15 de mayo, realizamos un sorteo para seleccionar a la persona ganadora del estipendio de $100 USD.
Nos complace felicitar a Hebert Poll Gutiérrez (@hebertpoll), artista seleccionado para recibir el estipendio. ¡Muchas felicidades! ✨
Agradecemos profundamente a todas las personas que compartieron sus experiencias y perspectivas con ARC. Sus respuestas serán de gran ayuda para orientar futuras iniciativas, oportunidades y programas de apoyo para la comunidad artística cubana.
🫶 Gracias por formar parte de esta comunidad y por ayudarnos a fortalecer nuestro trabajo.
#ArtistasCubanos #ComunidadArtística #EncuestaArtística #ArteCubano #CulturaCubana #IniciativasCulturales #ApoyoAlArte
Luis Alejandro Yero is a Cuban filmmaker whose work explores queer migration, identity, belonging, and social change.
Now based in Brasil, Yero`s films focus on the lived experiences of people navigating displacement and uncertainty. His acclaimed documentary Llamadas desde Moscú follows four young queer Cuban migrants living in Moscow as they search for freedom, connection, and a future beyond the borders they have left behind.
Premiering at the Berlinale and later screened internationally, the film offers an intimate portrait of exile, identity, and resilience. It was later censored and prohibited from screening in Cuba.
This Pride Month, ARC is proud to highlight Luis Alejandro Yero and the artists using storytelling to illuminate experiences that too often remain unseen.
Learn more through the link in our bio.
#PrideMonth #ArtistsAtRiskConnection #ArtisticFreedom #QueerArtists #CubanArtists #CreativeFreedom #QueerMigration #LuisAlejandroYero #DocumentaryFilm #LGBTQStories #MigrationMatters #FilmSpotlight #Exile #Resilience #ArtActivism #Berlinale #ArtistSpotlight
Luis Alejandro Yero is a Cuban filmmaker whose work explores queer migration, identity, belonging, and social change.
Now based in Brasil, Yero`s films focus on the lived experiences of people navigating displacement and uncertainty. His acclaimed documentary Llamadas desde Moscú follows four young queer Cuban migrants living in Moscow as they search for freedom, connection, and a future beyond the borders they have left behind.
Premiering at the Berlinale and later screened internationally, the film offers an intimate portrait of exile, identity, and resilience. It was later censored and prohibited from screening in Cuba.
This Pride Month, ARC is proud to highlight Luis Alejandro Yero and the artists using storytelling to illuminate experiences that too often remain unseen.
Learn more through the link in our bio.
#PrideMonth #ArtistsAtRiskConnection #ArtisticFreedom #QueerArtists #CubanArtists #CreativeFreedom #QueerMigration #LuisAlejandroYero #DocumentaryFilm #LGBTQStories #MigrationMatters #FilmSpotlight #Exile #Resilience #ArtActivism #Berlinale #ArtistSpotlight
🎨 Open Call: TED x POSCA Global Artist Residency
What does it mean to repair what has been broken—and to make that process visible?
The TED x POSCA Global Artist Residency, curated by Fine Acts, invites artists from around the world to explore this question through Visible Mending, a theme centered on repair, hope, and transformation as a lived practice. (@ted @poscaoficial @fineacts)
Designed for artists working through public space, collective imagination, and civic engagement, this globally distributed residency supports projects that emerge from and engage directly with local communities.
Selected artists will:
• Receive a $15,000 honorarium and production support
• Work within their own communities—no relocation required
• Develop public-facing, participatory projects
• Share their work through global platforms
At ARC, we know that artists are often at the forefront of helping communities process change, build connection, and imagine new futures.
That`s why we`re excited to share this opportunity through the ARC Artist Resiliency Toolkit.
📅 Applications close July 31, 2026
Learn more on @fineacts page!
#ArtistOpportunity #ArtistResiliencyToolkit #OpenCall #ArtResidency #ArtGrant #ArtWorld #ContemporaryArt #ArtCommunity #ArtLife #ArtOfTheDay #InstaArt #ArtCollective #ArtForChange #GlobalArtists #ArtSupport #Artivism #VisibleMending #FineActs #TEDxPOSCA
🎨 Open Call: TED x POSCA Global Artist Residency
What does it mean to repair what has been broken—and to make that process visible?
The TED x POSCA Global Artist Residency, curated by Fine Acts, invites artists from around the world to explore this question through Visible Mending, a theme centered on repair, hope, and transformation as a lived practice. (@ted @poscaoficial @fineacts)
Designed for artists working through public space, collective imagination, and civic engagement, this globally distributed residency supports projects that emerge from and engage directly with local communities.
Selected artists will:
• Receive a $15,000 honorarium and production support
• Work within their own communities—no relocation required
• Develop public-facing, participatory projects
• Share their work through global platforms
At ARC, we know that artists are often at the forefront of helping communities process change, build connection, and imagine new futures.
That`s why we`re excited to share this opportunity through the ARC Artist Resiliency Toolkit.
📅 Applications close July 31, 2026
Learn more on @fineacts page!
#ArtistOpportunity #ArtistResiliencyToolkit #OpenCall #ArtResidency #ArtGrant #ArtWorld #ContemporaryArt #ArtCommunity #ArtLife #ArtOfTheDay #InstaArt #ArtCollective #ArtForChange #GlobalArtists #ArtSupport #Artivism #VisibleMending #FineActs #TEDxPOSCA
Russian artist and activist Yulia Tsvetkova became the target of investigations and criminal charges for artwork celebrating women`s bodies and advocating for LGBTQ+ rights.
This Pride Month, we`re highlighting artists whose work challenges censorship and expands what`s possible.
Despite years of harassment, she continued creating.
"My views have not changed, and I will transform everything that happens to me into artistic forms."
Read Yulia`s story through the link in our bio.
#PrideMonth #ArtisticFreedom #QueerArtists #FreedomOfExpression #ARCSpotlight
Russian artist and activist Yulia Tsvetkova became the target of investigations and criminal charges for artwork celebrating women`s bodies and advocating for LGBTQ+ rights.
This Pride Month, we`re highlighting artists whose work challenges censorship and expands what`s possible.
Despite years of harassment, she continued creating.
"My views have not changed, and I will transform everything that happens to me into artistic forms."
Read Yulia`s story through the link in our bio.
#PrideMonth #ArtisticFreedom #QueerArtists #FreedomOfExpression #ARCSpotlight
Want to see more?
Follow us on socials
Want to support artists at risk?
We rely on your donations.
Subscribe to ARC’s quarterly newsletter and e-blasts for the lastest updates on artistic freedom.