Panels on Artistic Freedom at the Independent Art Fair Hosted by ARC and ATLT

Event series in New York City highlights the strong links between art and human rights

(NEW YORK) – Artists at Risk Connection (ARC) and Art at a Time Like This (ATLT)  are joining forces to host “Dangerous Art, Endangered Artists,” an event series bringing together socially-engaged artists and cultural workers to explore the strong links between art and human rights at a time when authoritarian repression and threats to artists are at unprecedented levels globally.

ARC and ATLT have observed a dramatic increase in artistic censorship over the past few years, ranging from book bans and anti-drag legislation in the U.S. to unjust laws worldwide that threaten artists and seek to erase rich cultures. Amid the horrific devastation targeting the civilian population coupled with the immense destruction of art and cultural heritage in Gaza, and critical elections in at least 64 countries this year, the series will feature an interdisciplinary assembly of discussions that encapsulate the landscape of an artistic revolution. Discussions will underscore the vital role of artists and cultural professionals as human rights defenders, and signal the distinct challenges creatives face due to their artivism.

Beginning May 10th, “Dangerous Art, Endangered Artists” will kick off with a full day of free programming at the Independent Art Fair at Spring Studios on Varick Street in Tribeca. In the program’s first panel of the day, artists Dan Perjrovschi, Lesia Khomenko, Rudy Loewe, and curator Xiaoyu Weng will explore the challenges artists face as socially-engaged, political actors and the impact that artistic creation can have on global social movements in a panel discussion “Art and the Politics of Resistance,” moderated by ARC Director Julie Trébault.  

Tania El Khoury, Director of the Center for Human Rights & the Arts at Bard College, and Laura Raicovich, curator, writer, and editor of Protodispatch, will discuss institutional self-censorship and the critical work currently being done to reinvigorate cultural spaces in “Compromise and Action: Participating in a Global Art World.”

Elizabeth Larison, NCAC Director of the Arts and Culture Advocacy Program, Sibila Sotomayor Van Rysseghem, member of Chilean feminist collective LASTESIS, and Palestinian-American visual artist Jenin Yaseen in “Don’t Delete Art:  Is Social Media Beyond Our Control?” will explore the reality of artistic suppression on social media and the tangible impacts of digital censorship on artists’ livelihoods, emotional well-being, and free expression in a panel moderated by Don’t Delete Art’s Editor-At-Large, Emma Shapiro.

The “Dangerous Art, Endangered Artists” series continues on June 7 and 8, 2024, when ARC and ATLT will host an artistic freedom summit at BRIC, in Brooklyn. This special convening of artists, activists, performers, and writers from around the world will provide a unique opportunity to examine the complex issue of censorship from a wide range of perspectives. Confirmed speakers include Iranian visual artist, Shirin Neshat, journalist and author of the 1619 Project Nikole Hannah-Jones, writer and art critic Aruna D’Souza, American visual artist Dread Scott, Pakistani-American visual artist Shazia Sikander, founder and co-director of Project for Empty Space Jasmine Wahi, co-founder of ArtLords and Afghan artivist Omaid Sharifi, Kenyan musician Octopizzio, Native American artist and activist Demian DinéYazhi’. 

May 10 Schedule @ The Independent Art Fair

11:30 am – 1:00 pm Art at the Politics of Resistance

2:00 pm – 3:00 pm Compromise and Action: Participating in a Global Art World

4:00 pm – 5:30 pm Don’t Delete Art:  Is Social Media Beyond Our Control?

For more information about these events, please visit the

Dangerous Art, Endangered Artists program.

About Art at a Time Like This

Art at a Time Like This (ATLT) is a 501c3 arts organization that serves artists and curators facing the 21st century, presenting art in direct response to current events. Utilizing digital and public platforms, ATLT presents art in a non-profit context, highlighting art as an invaluable conveyor of content, rather than commodity. Our mission is to show that art can make a difference and that artists and curators can be thought-leaders, envisioning alternative futures for humanity.

About Artists at Risk Connection

Artists at Risk Connection (ARC) safeguards the right to artistic freedom of expression and ensures that artists and cultural professionals everywhere can live and work without fear. Our ultimate goal is to address the needs of artists at risk and the organizations that serve them. Since its inception in 2017, ARC has assisted more than 500 individual artists and cultural professionals from over 63 countries by connecting them to a wide range of services, including emergency funds, legal assistance, temporary relocation programs, and fellowships.  

For more information and artists’ availability, please contact:

Valentine Sargent
Communications Assistant, ARC
480-251-2491
vsargent@artistsatriskconnection.org 
X: @atriskartists

Andy Cushman
ATLT
andy@artatatimelikethis.com
X: @artatatimelike