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.
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.
Vietnam
Mai Khoi
Chad
Taigué Ahmed
Hong Kong
Franki C.
Nigeria
DJ Switch
United States
Dread Scott
China
Rahima Mahmut
Exhibitions
The Art of Resistance:
Contemporary Art from
Russia & Belarus
Curated by Vera Shengalia
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
INSTAGRAM FEED
ARC stands in solidarity with Minnesota, the undocumented community in the U.S., and all those who are participating in the National Shutdown on January 30th, 2026, a nationwide day of action responding to escalating attacks on marginalized communities by federal immigration officials and recent fatal shootings of civilians by federal agents in Minnesota. ARC has signed in support of this action and its collective messaging.
ARC is speaking out at this moment because our work with artists and cultural workers consistently shows that when government authorities sidestep or otherwise controvert the rule of law to surveil, intimidate and harass communities, risks to freedom of expression and personal safety increase for all.
Since 2017, ARC has had the privilege of serving artists and cultural workers who use their creativity to express the diversity, beauty, and complexity of our humanity of our humanity. The same patterns of authoritarianism that ARC has witnessed and documented within some of the most repressive governments globally, we are observing develop within the United States as well. People are being targeted and attacked on the basis of their identity, their roles in their community, and because of their affirmation of the dignity of all humans.
Artists and cultural workers play a vital role in upholding the First Amendment and sustaining a vibrant cultural life. Yet many face heightened vulnerability due to immigration status, racialization, or political expression. ARC affirms the right of all people, regardless of immigration status, to create, speak, and contribute freely and safely.
ARC remains committed to supporting artists and cultural workers through protection resources, safety guidance, and referrals to trusted legal and advocacy partners, particularly during moments of heightened risk. ARC will continue to work with its network to document impacts, share resources, and support artists and cultural workers navigating these challenges, ensuring that all are able to create and contribute to cultural life without fear and in recognition of our shared humanity. #nationalshutdown @ncacensorship @falloffreedom @50501 @1acommittee
ARC stands in solidarity with Minnesota, the undocumented community in the U.S., and all those who are participating in the National Shutdown on January 30th, 2026, a nationwide day of action responding to escalating attacks on marginalized communities by federal immigration officials and recent fatal shootings of civilians by federal agents in Minnesota. ARC has signed in support of this action and its collective messaging.
ARC is speaking out at this moment because our work with artists and cultural workers consistently shows that when government authorities sidestep or otherwise controvert the rule of law to surveil, intimidate and harass communities, risks to freedom of expression and personal safety increase for all.
Since 2017, ARC has had the privilege of serving artists and cultural workers who use their creativity to express the diversity, beauty, and complexity of our humanity of our humanity. The same patterns of authoritarianism that ARC has witnessed and documented within some of the most repressive governments globally, we are observing develop within the United States as well. People are being targeted and attacked on the basis of their identity, their roles in their community, and because of their affirmation of the dignity of all humans.
Artists and cultural workers play a vital role in upholding the First Amendment and sustaining a vibrant cultural life. Yet many face heightened vulnerability due to immigration status, racialization, or political expression. ARC affirms the right of all people, regardless of immigration status, to create, speak, and contribute freely and safely.
ARC remains committed to supporting artists and cultural workers through protection resources, safety guidance, and referrals to trusted legal and advocacy partners, particularly during moments of heightened risk. ARC will continue to work with its network to document impacts, share resources, and support artists and cultural workers navigating these challenges, ensuring that all are able to create and contribute to cultural life without fear and in recognition of our shared humanity. #nationalshutdown @ncacensorship @falloffreedom @50501 @1acommittee
⛓🎨 ARC’s latest digital exhibition, The Art of Resistance, is still live!
Featuring 13 contemporary Russian and Belarusian visual artists, The Art of Resistance is a powerful testament to creative defiance in the face of war, repression, and authoritarianism.
Through painting, performance, animation, and protest art, the artists confront anti-war resistance, political persecution, and the lived experience of displacement—while insisting on a more humane world through the act of creating.
🔗 Explore the exhibition and artist interviews:
https://artistsatriskconnection.org/exhibition/art-of-resistance-exhibition/
Image credit: GipnoZ ("Hypnosis") by Russian artist Philippenzo Courtesy of artist.
@philippenzo #ArtistsAgainstTheWar #Artivism #TheArtofResistance #CreativeResistance
⛓🎨 ARC’s latest digital exhibition, The Art of Resistance, is still live!
Featuring 13 contemporary Russian and Belarusian visual artists, The Art of Resistance is a powerful testament to creative defiance in the face of war, repression, and authoritarianism.
Through painting, performance, animation, and protest art, the artists confront anti-war resistance, political persecution, and the lived experience of displacement—while insisting on a more humane world through the act of creating.
🔗 Explore the exhibition and artist interviews:
https://artistsatriskconnection.org/exhibition/art-of-resistance-exhibition/
Image credit: GipnoZ ("Hypnosis") by Russian artist Philippenzo Courtesy of artist.
@philippenzo #ArtistsAgainstTheWar #Artivism #TheArtofResistance #CreativeResistance
ARC joins Civil Rights Defenders (@crdefenders), PEN International (@peninternational), and PEN Cuba in Exile in condemning the prison sentences imposed on writer and journalist José Gabriel Barrenechea Chávez and rapper, artist, and activist Fernando Almenares Rivera (Nando OBDC).
We call for their immediate and unconditional release and urge continued international attention to the repression of artists, writers, and journalists in Cuba.
Read our joint statement: https://artistsatriskconnection.org/statement/unjust-convictions-against-jose-gabriel-barrenechea-chavez-and-rapper-nando-obdc-must-be-overturned/
#cuba #soscuba
ARC joins Civil Rights Defenders (@crdefenders), PEN International (@peninternational), and PEN Cuba in Exile in condemning the prison sentences imposed on writer and journalist José Gabriel Barrenechea Chávez and rapper, artist, and activist Fernando Almenares Rivera (Nando OBDC).
We call for their immediate and unconditional release and urge continued international attention to the repression of artists, writers, and journalists in Cuba.
Read our joint statement: https://artistsatriskconnection.org/statement/unjust-convictions-against-jose-gabriel-barrenechea-chavez-and-rapper-nando-obdc-must-be-overturned/
#cuba #soscuba
“My work is not far from political matters, because the geography I was born in and the experiences I lived through have politicized my work.” — Zehra Doğan (@zehra____dogan)
Kurdish painter and journalist Zehra Doğan uses her art to document conflict, displacement, and the resilience of Kurdish women. Growing up amid violence in southeastern Türkiye, she became committed to telling stories that have often been erased by official state narratives.
After being imprisoned in 2017 for a painting based on the destruction of Nusaybin, Doğan continued to create art in prison using improvised materials and smuggled her work to the outside world, proving that even behind bars, artistic expression cannot be extinguished.
📖 Read her story: https://artistsatriskconnection.org/artist-voice/zehra-dogan/
Image credit: Eşa Şahmeran (Shahmeran’s Pain), 2016 (from the artist’s time in Mardin Prison, 2016). Courtesy of the artist.
#ZehraDogan #ArtIsPower #ArtistSpotlight #Kurdistan
“My work is not far from political matters, because the geography I was born in and the experiences I lived through have politicized my work.” — Zehra Doğan (@zehra____dogan)
Kurdish painter and journalist Zehra Doğan uses her art to document conflict, displacement, and the resilience of Kurdish women. Growing up amid violence in southeastern Türkiye, she became committed to telling stories that have often been erased by official state narratives.
After being imprisoned in 2017 for a painting based on the destruction of Nusaybin, Doğan continued to create art in prison using improvised materials and smuggled her work to the outside world, proving that even behind bars, artistic expression cannot be extinguished.
📖 Read her story: https://artistsatriskconnection.org/artist-voice/zehra-dogan/
Image credit: Eşa Şahmeran (Shahmeran’s Pain), 2016 (from the artist’s time in Mardin Prison, 2016). Courtesy of the artist.
#ZehraDogan #ArtIsPower #ArtistSpotlight #Kurdistan
✨ We’re thrilled to announce the selected artists for the third edition of the Cuban Migrant Artists Resilience Fellowship ✨
In response to the ongoing repression of independent artists in Cuba, which has forced many into exile, ARC launched the third edition of the Cuban Migrant Artists Resilience Fellowship to support Cuban artists in exile as they continue creating freely and rebuilding their professional lives abroad.
After a highly rigorous selection process, ARC is proud to welcome an extraordinary cohort of artists whose practices boldly engage with migration, displacement, artistic freedom, and social transformation through a wide range of perspectives and disciplines.
🎉 Meet the 2026 Fellows:
Ahmel Echevarría Peré
(@ahmelechevarria )
Camila Ramírez Lobón
(@camila.r.lobon)
Eliexer Márquez Duany “El Funky”
(@elfunkycuba)
Fernando Fraguela Fosado
(@palenque_films)
Ismario Rodríguez Pérez
(@ismariorodriguezperez)
Julio Llopiz-Casal
(@juliollopizcasal @ti_cheta @fotonovelatransitoria)
Katherine Bisquet Rodríguez
(@katherinebisquet)
Luis Alejandro Yero
(@filmes.del.exodo)
María Esther Lemus Cordero
(@maryestherlemus)
Yanelys Nuñez Leyva
(@yanelys_nl @museo_disidencia_en_cuba)
Over the coming months, we look forward to supporting the growth of their projects and sharing the powerful work emerging from this new fellowship cycle. Stay tuned and discover more about them on our website: https://artistsatriskconnection.org/cuban-migrant-artists-resilience-fellowship/
👏 👏 Congratulations to all the fellows! Welcome to the CMARF community!
✨ We’re thrilled to announce the selected artists for the third edition of the Cuban Migrant Artists Resilience Fellowship ✨
In response to the ongoing repression of independent artists in Cuba, which has forced many into exile, ARC launched the third edition of the Cuban Migrant Artists Resilience Fellowship to support Cuban artists in exile as they continue creating freely and rebuilding their professional lives abroad.
After a highly rigorous selection process, ARC is proud to welcome an extraordinary cohort of artists whose practices boldly engage with migration, displacement, artistic freedom, and social transformation through a wide range of perspectives and disciplines.
🎉 Meet the 2026 Fellows:
Ahmel Echevarría Peré
(@ahmelechevarria )
Camila Ramírez Lobón
(@camila.r.lobon)
Eliexer Márquez Duany “El Funky”
(@elfunkycuba)
Fernando Fraguela Fosado
(@palenque_films)
Ismario Rodríguez Pérez
(@ismariorodriguezperez)
Julio Llopiz-Casal
(@juliollopizcasal @ti_cheta @fotonovelatransitoria)
Katherine Bisquet Rodríguez
(@katherinebisquet)
Luis Alejandro Yero
(@filmes.del.exodo)
María Esther Lemus Cordero
(@maryestherlemus)
Yanelys Nuñez Leyva
(@yanelys_nl @museo_disidencia_en_cuba)
Over the coming months, we look forward to supporting the growth of their projects and sharing the powerful work emerging from this new fellowship cycle. Stay tuned and discover more about them on our website: https://artistsatriskconnection.org/cuban-migrant-artists-resilience-fellowship/
👏 👏 Congratulations to all the fellows! Welcome to the CMARF community!
UPDATE: ARC is deeply saddened to learn of the killing of additional artists during the January protests in Iran and calls on the authorities to stop their assault on and detention of protesters, and on the international community to take urgent action to halt escalating violations of human rights and humanitarian norms.
Newly identified victims include Babak Jamali, a singer with the Rasa music group killed in Arak, and Ghazal Aghaei Lindi, a nature photographer killed in Tehran, both reportedly killed by government forces.
🔗 Our statement has been updated to reflect this new information: https://artistsatriskconnection.org/statement/arc-condemns-attacks-on-artists-by-iranian-forces/
UPDATE: ARC is deeply saddened to learn of the killing of additional artists during the January protests in Iran and calls on the authorities to stop their assault on and detention of protesters, and on the international community to take urgent action to halt escalating violations of human rights and humanitarian norms.
Newly identified victims include Babak Jamali, a singer with the Rasa music group killed in Arak, and Ghazal Aghaei Lindi, a nature photographer killed in Tehran, both reportedly killed by government forces.
🔗 Our statement has been updated to reflect this new information: https://artistsatriskconnection.org/statement/arc-condemns-attacks-on-artists-by-iranian-forces/
✍️ CALL FOR SUBMISSIONS: IHRAF – Hannah Arendt Festival (NYC, June 5–7, 2026)
The International Human Rights Art Movement (IHRAM) invites artists and performers to submit work for the IHRAF: Hannah Arendt Festival, celebrating the life and ideas of political thinker Hannah Arendt. Submissions are open for live performance work in any discipline.
📅 Deadline: February 15, 2026
🔗 Learn more & submit: https://humanrightsartmovement.org/ihraf-hannah-arendt
@ihrartmovement #IHRAF #HannahArendt
✍️ CALL FOR SUBMISSIONS: IHRAF – Hannah Arendt Festival (NYC, June 5–7, 2026)
The International Human Rights Art Movement (IHRAM) invites artists and performers to submit work for the IHRAF: Hannah Arendt Festival, celebrating the life and ideas of political thinker Hannah Arendt. Submissions are open for live performance work in any discipline.
📅 Deadline: February 15, 2026
🔗 Learn more & submit: https://humanrightsartmovement.org/ihraf-hannah-arendt
@ihrartmovement #IHRAF #HannahArendt
How are young artists and cultural organizers using creativity to resist authoritarianism, build solidarity, and reimagine participation and justice?
ARC warmly invites you to the opening session of Solidarity Loom, a new global virtual series weaving a network of engaged creatives responding to rising authoritarianism through arts and culture.
The first gathering, Youth, Art, and Activism, centers stories of creative resistance and artivism from across regions—offering space to listen, reflect, and connect across contexts.
This session brings together young artists and cultural organizers from Serbia, the Philippines, Kenya, and the United States, who will share how their work engages community, memory, justice, and collective action in challenging political and social environments.
Join us in weaving a shared space for reflection, connection, and collective creative action!
Youth, Art, and Activism
Thursday, January 22, 2026
10:00 AM EST
Virtual | Open to a global audience (in English)
View the event details and speakers` bios: https://impactart.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/01/0122-Solidarity-Loom.pdf
Register online: https://forms.gle/jLEADnnbHRa7gr8TA
How are young artists and cultural organizers using creativity to resist authoritarianism, build solidarity, and reimagine participation and justice?
ARC warmly invites you to the opening session of Solidarity Loom, a new global virtual series weaving a network of engaged creatives responding to rising authoritarianism through arts and culture.
The first gathering, Youth, Art, and Activism, centers stories of creative resistance and artivism from across regions—offering space to listen, reflect, and connect across contexts.
This session brings together young artists and cultural organizers from Serbia, the Philippines, Kenya, and the United States, who will share how their work engages community, memory, justice, and collective action in challenging political and social environments.
Join us in weaving a shared space for reflection, connection, and collective creative action!
Youth, Art, and Activism
Thursday, January 22, 2026
10:00 AM EST
Virtual | Open to a global audience (in English)
View the event details and speakers` bios: https://impactart.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/01/0122-Solidarity-Loom.pdf
Register online: https://forms.gle/jLEADnnbHRa7gr8TA
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