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.
Chad
Taigué Ahmed
Hong Kong
Franki C.
Nigeria
DJ Switch
United States
Dread Scott
China
Rahima Mahmut
Turkey
Aslı Erdoğan
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
“We fell in love with how calligraphy can define a city.” — Javier Serrano Guerra
Spanish artist Javier Serrano Guerra (part of the collective Boa Mistura) has spent more than two decades turning urban walls into canvases of belonging, community and resistance. With a group rooted in graffiti culture, Boa Mistura creates murals and installations that respond to the identity of each place, often in close collaboration with local residents.
Their work reaches beyond aesthetics. Murals, public-space interventions and community art projects become tools for solidarity, visibility, and dignity.
🔗 Read their story: https://artistsatriskconnection.org/artist-voice/javier-serrano-guerra-boa-mistura/
@boamistura #StreetArt #UrbanArt #Grafitti #ArtistSpotlight
“We fell in love with how calligraphy can define a city.” — Javier Serrano Guerra
Spanish artist Javier Serrano Guerra (part of the collective Boa Mistura) has spent more than two decades turning urban walls into canvases of belonging, community and resistance. With a group rooted in graffiti culture, Boa Mistura creates murals and installations that respond to the identity of each place, often in close collaboration with local residents.
Their work reaches beyond aesthetics. Murals, public-space interventions and community art projects become tools for solidarity, visibility, and dignity.
🔗 Read their story: https://artistsatriskconnection.org/artist-voice/javier-serrano-guerra-boa-mistura/
@boamistura #StreetArt #UrbanArt #Grafitti #ArtistSpotlight
🎥🇲🇽ARC at la Red de Festivales de Cine de Derechos Humanos del Abya Yala
Last week, during the network’s meeting, ARC had the privilege of speaking with the Ambassador of Colombia in Mexico, Carlos Fernando García Manosalva, a long-standing supporter of the Festival de Cine Sin Fronteras. (@festivalcinesinfronteras)
He underscored the importance of defending human rights and protecting life—especially now, in a moment of rising geopolitical tensions and increasing xenophobic attitudes toward migrants globally.
Learn more: 🔗https://artistsatriskconnection.org/event/arc-cine-sin-fronteras/
#CineSinFronteras #HumanRights #AbyaYala
🎥🇲🇽ARC at la Red de Festivales de Cine de Derechos Humanos del Abya Yala
Last week, during the network’s meeting, ARC had the privilege of speaking with the Ambassador of Colombia in Mexico, Carlos Fernando García Manosalva, a long-standing supporter of the Festival de Cine Sin Fronteras. (@festivalcinesinfronteras)
He underscored the importance of defending human rights and protecting life—especially now, in a moment of rising geopolitical tensions and increasing xenophobic attitudes toward migrants globally.
Learn more: 🔗https://artistsatriskconnection.org/event/arc-cine-sin-fronteras/
#CineSinFronteras #HumanRights #AbyaYala
Cuban migrant artists: Apply now to the Cuban Migrant Artists Resilience Fellowship!
In response to the enduring challenges faced by Cuban artists in exile, ARC is launching the third edition of the Cuban Migrant Artists Resilience Fellowship to support 10 artists.
✨ Each artist will receive:
A resilience grant of $7,000 USD
A tailored mentorship program
Virtual trainings designed for their specific needs
Peer-to-peer exchanges
The chance to exhibit their art project in a group show, alongside the two previous fellowship cohorts
✅ Eligibility:
Applicants must be 18 or older, born in Cuba, and have relocated abroad within the last five years due to threats stemming from their creative expression
Must demonstrate commitment to a career in the arts
Artists from all disciplines are encouraged to apply
This call is only for artists who have faced risk or persecution due to their artistic work or activism and who clearly need to participate in the fellowship
Applicants will be evaluated on a detailed plan, timeline, and budget breakdown for their artistic proposal
The six-month fellowship supports projects that can be completed within that timeframe and with the awarded grant
Applicants must have a way to receive funds from ARC
For more info, visit https://bit.ly/ARCprograma or apply via the link in our bio.
#ElArteNoEsDelito #ArtIsNotACrime #patriayvida #SOScuba #Cuba #artecubano #artecontemporaneo #contemporarycubanart #Artivismo #Artivism #opencall #artopencall #artopportunities #convocatoria #MétodoCuba
Cuban migrant artists: Apply now to the Cuban Migrant Artists Resilience Fellowship!
In response to the enduring challenges faced by Cuban artists in exile, ARC is launching the third edition of the Cuban Migrant Artists Resilience Fellowship to support 10 artists.
✨ Each artist will receive:
A resilience grant of $7,000 USD
A tailored mentorship program
Virtual trainings designed for their specific needs
Peer-to-peer exchanges
The chance to exhibit their art project in a group show, alongside the two previous fellowship cohorts
✅ Eligibility:
Applicants must be 18 or older, born in Cuba, and have relocated abroad within the last five years due to threats stemming from their creative expression
Must demonstrate commitment to a career in the arts
Artists from all disciplines are encouraged to apply
This call is only for artists who have faced risk or persecution due to their artistic work or activism and who clearly need to participate in the fellowship
Applicants will be evaluated on a detailed plan, timeline, and budget breakdown for their artistic proposal
The six-month fellowship supports projects that can be completed within that timeframe and with the awarded grant
Applicants must have a way to receive funds from ARC
For more info, visit https://bit.ly/ARCprograma or apply via the link in our bio.
#ElArteNoEsDelito #ArtIsNotACrime #patriayvida #SOScuba #Cuba #artecubano #artecontemporaneo #contemporarycubanart #Artivismo #Artivism #opencall #artopencall #artopportunities #convocatoria #MétodoCuba
NEXT WEEK in Paris, ARC will moderate a morning session of the Forum Europe Créative 2025 at the Maison des Métallos!
The session, “Being Free: Safeguarding Artistic and Cultural Freedoms in Europe,” held on December 2, will explore how artists, institutions, and communities can protect the freedom to create, express, and inform other in a context marked by rising censorship pressures, and political instrumentalization.
Together with cultural actors from across Europe, we’ll examine the role of public policy, legal protections, and collective solidarity in defending our shared capacity to imagine and create.
Speakers include: Laurent Bigarella (Coordinateur du réseau RESET!, et directeur du pôle idées & coopérations d`Arty Farty); Thibaut Bruttin (Directeur général, Reporters sans frontières); Catherine Magnant (Cheffe de l`unité Politique culturelle à la DG EAC, European Commission); Paul Rechter (Conseiller auprès du Directeur général de la création artistique, Ministère de la Culture); Sophie Valais (Responsable adjointe du Département Informations juridiques, Observatoire européen de l`audiovisuel)
Learn more and register: https://artistsatriskconnection.org/.../arc-forum-europe.../
@relais_culture_europe @rsfinternational @arty.farty.eu @culture_gouv @uefrance
NEXT WEEK in Paris, ARC will moderate a morning session of the Forum Europe Créative 2025 at the Maison des Métallos!
The session, “Being Free: Safeguarding Artistic and Cultural Freedoms in Europe,” held on December 2, will explore how artists, institutions, and communities can protect the freedom to create, express, and inform other in a context marked by rising censorship pressures, and political instrumentalization.
Together with cultural actors from across Europe, we’ll examine the role of public policy, legal protections, and collective solidarity in defending our shared capacity to imagine and create.
Speakers include: Laurent Bigarella (Coordinateur du réseau RESET!, et directeur du pôle idées & coopérations d`Arty Farty); Thibaut Bruttin (Directeur général, Reporters sans frontières); Catherine Magnant (Cheffe de l`unité Politique culturelle à la DG EAC, European Commission); Paul Rechter (Conseiller auprès du Directeur général de la création artistique, Ministère de la Culture); Sophie Valais (Responsable adjointe du Département Informations juridiques, Observatoire européen de l`audiovisuel)
Learn more and register: https://artistsatriskconnection.org/.../arc-forum-europe.../
@relais_culture_europe @rsfinternational @arty.farty.eu @culture_gouv @uefrance
“Artists are the canaries in the coal mine… and we have a special role to play in sounding the alarm and pushing back against the forces that want to make us be quiet.” — Dashka Slater
American writer Dashka Slater is best known for The 57 Bus, her award-winning narrative nonfiction book about two teenagers whose lives intersected in a moment of violence, and how that moment sparked conversations about race, gender, justice, and empathy across the country.
In recent years, The 57 Bus has become one of the most frequently banned books in the United States due to its portrayal of LGBTQ+ youth. Slater has received countless letters from young readers, families, and educators who see the book as a lifeline that fosters honesty, compassion, and understanding.
Slater continues to write stories that push readers to confront structural injustice and imagine a more equitable future.
📚 Read her story: https://artistsatriskconnection.org/artist-voice/dashka-slater/
#DashkaSlater #The57Bus #artistspotlight #bookbans
“Artists are the canaries in the coal mine… and we have a special role to play in sounding the alarm and pushing back against the forces that want to make us be quiet.” — Dashka Slater
American writer Dashka Slater is best known for The 57 Bus, her award-winning narrative nonfiction book about two teenagers whose lives intersected in a moment of violence, and how that moment sparked conversations about race, gender, justice, and empathy across the country.
In recent years, The 57 Bus has become one of the most frequently banned books in the United States due to its portrayal of LGBTQ+ youth. Slater has received countless letters from young readers, families, and educators who see the book as a lifeline that fosters honesty, compassion, and understanding.
Slater continues to write stories that push readers to confront structural injustice and imagine a more equitable future.
📚 Read her story: https://artistsatriskconnection.org/artist-voice/dashka-slater/
#DashkaSlater #The57Bus #artistspotlight #bookbans
🇺🇦 🌻"In times of crisis such as war, solidarity should be a reciprocal practice."
Earlier this year, ARC hosted a special panel discussion and launch event to celebrate the release of "Navigating the War as Artists in Ukraine: A Practical Resource,” a guide produced by the Ukrainian NGO Museum of Contemporary Art (@ukrainian_emergency_art_fund) with support and insights from partners such as ARC, the @ukrainian_institute, the MZ Hub research center, the Ukrainian Museum of Contemporary Art, Ukrainian Emergency Art Fund (UEAF), and the Raphael Lemkin Society (@lemkin_society)
Inspired by ARC’s "Safety Guide for Artists,” the resource touches on key concerns for artists living through conflict, ranging from evacuation and finding mental health support to restarting one’s career and strategies for digital activism.
Join us in continuing to uplift this resource and standing in solidarity with Ukrainian artists: https://moca.org.ua/wp-content/uploads/2025/02/ENG-Artists-Safety-Navigator.pdf
Image credit: Daniil Nemyrovskyi, Azovstal, Mariupol, black ballpoint oil pen on paper, 2022. From UMCA (Ukrainian Museum of Contemporary Art) collection
🇺🇦 🌻"In times of crisis such as war, solidarity should be a reciprocal practice."
Earlier this year, ARC hosted a special panel discussion and launch event to celebrate the release of "Navigating the War as Artists in Ukraine: A Practical Resource,” a guide produced by the Ukrainian NGO Museum of Contemporary Art (@ukrainian_emergency_art_fund) with support and insights from partners such as ARC, the @ukrainian_institute, the MZ Hub research center, the Ukrainian Museum of Contemporary Art, Ukrainian Emergency Art Fund (UEAF), and the Raphael Lemkin Society (@lemkin_society)
Inspired by ARC’s "Safety Guide for Artists,” the resource touches on key concerns for artists living through conflict, ranging from evacuation and finding mental health support to restarting one’s career and strategies for digital activism.
Join us in continuing to uplift this resource and standing in solidarity with Ukrainian artists: https://moca.org.ua/wp-content/uploads/2025/02/ENG-Artists-Safety-Navigator.pdf
Image credit: Daniil Nemyrovskyi, Azovstal, Mariupol, black ballpoint oil pen on paper, 2022. From UMCA (Ukrainian Museum of Contemporary Art) collection
🎥🇲🇽 ARC is heading to Tijuana!
From TODAY until Saturday 22 November, we’ll be joining the Meeting of the Abya Yala Human Rights Film Festival Network, held as part of the Cine Sin Fronteras Festival.
This five-day gathering brings together some of the most committed human rights film festivals across Latin America—directors, programmers, and producers imagining new collective strategies for a more ethical, sustainable, and politically engaged filmmaking ecosystem.
✨ On Friday, ARC will lead a Safety Workshop for artists and filmmakers, focusing on digital protection, secure communication, and safety strategies for working amid growing censorship and authoritarian pressure.
Participants include: @festivalentretodos @contraelsilencio @espacio_queer
@colmigrantefest @festradical_bolivia
Learn more: https://artistsatriskconnection.org/event/arc-cine-sin-fronteras/
🎥🇲🇽 ARC is heading to Tijuana!
From TODAY until Saturday 22 November, we’ll be joining the Meeting of the Abya Yala Human Rights Film Festival Network, held as part of the Cine Sin Fronteras Festival.
This five-day gathering brings together some of the most committed human rights film festivals across Latin America—directors, programmers, and producers imagining new collective strategies for a more ethical, sustainable, and politically engaged filmmaking ecosystem.
✨ On Friday, ARC will lead a Safety Workshop for artists and filmmakers, focusing on digital protection, secure communication, and safety strategies for working amid growing censorship and authoritarian pressure.
Participants include: @festivalentretodos @contraelsilencio @espacio_queer
@colmigrantefest @festradical_bolivia
Learn more: https://artistsatriskconnection.org/event/arc-cine-sin-fronteras/
On this Day of the Imprisoned Writer 2025, ARC joins PEN International in standing with writers around the world who are silenced for their words.
Today, we highlight Mohamed Tadjadit—an imprisoned Algerian writer known as the “the poet of the Hirak.” A powerful voice for justice, Mohamed has faced repeated arrests since 2019 for his poetry and peaceful activism. In January 2025, he was sentenced to five years in prison on politically motivated charges.
✊ ARC joins PEN International in calling on the Algerian authorities to immediately and unconditionally release Mohamed Tadjadit and drop all charges related to his peaceful expression.
Read our past statement on Mohamed`s arrest: https://artistsatriskconnection.org/statement/arc-and-pen-america-condemn-the-imprisonment-of-poet-mohamed-tadjadit/
@peninternational #DayOfTheImprisonedWriter #FreeMohamedTadjadit #Algeria #PoetryIsNotACrime
On this Day of the Imprisoned Writer 2025, ARC joins PEN International in standing with writers around the world who are silenced for their words.
Today, we highlight Mohamed Tadjadit—an imprisoned Algerian writer known as the “the poet of the Hirak.” A powerful voice for justice, Mohamed has faced repeated arrests since 2019 for his poetry and peaceful activism. In January 2025, he was sentenced to five years in prison on politically motivated charges.
✊ ARC joins PEN International in calling on the Algerian authorities to immediately and unconditionally release Mohamed Tadjadit and drop all charges related to his peaceful expression.
Read our past statement on Mohamed`s arrest: https://artistsatriskconnection.org/statement/arc-and-pen-america-condemn-the-imprisonment-of-poet-mohamed-tadjadit/
@peninternational #DayOfTheImprisonedWriter #FreeMohamedTadjadit #Algeria #PoetryIsNotACrime
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