Statements
AMANI:
Africa Creative Defence Network
The Amani network brings together organizations from across Africa and the globe to streamline communication and defend artists and creatives at risk.
Artist
stories
Stories of at-risk artists from Africa who are committed to protecting their right to freedom of expression and using their art to fight for justice.
Kenya
Grammo Suspect – Rainbow Ambassador Kenya
Zimbabwe
Collen Kajokoto
Uganda
Achiro P. Olwoch
Sudan
Khalid Albaih
Kenya
Wanuri Kahiu
Burundi
Eddy Munyaneza
Meetings & Workshops
ARC organizes meetings and workshops with artists and other stakeholders around the world to advance artistic freedom.
Strategy & Support for Artivism @ Global Artivism Conference 2024
ARC’s Africa Regional Representative, Sam Brakarsh, led a workshop on “Strategy and Support for Artivism” at the Global Artivism Conference in Pretoria, South Africa in September 2024. The workshop presented strategic challenges to the mechanisms that inhibit artivists as well as develop structures that amplify artivism communities.
ARC Joins 1st PANAF Conference
as Strategic Partner
In February 2024, ARC was a strategic partner for the Pan African Network for Artistic Freedom (PANAF) Summit, the first regional gathering on artistic freedom in Africa. ARC’s Africa Regional Representative attended the Summit in Zanzibar and presented ARC and the AMANI Network’s work, deepening efforts to build a cohesive regional strategy for artists and cultural practitioners in the Africa region. The Summit was attended by socially engaged artists, civil society organizations, and government officials committed to artistic freedom primarily across Zambia, Tanzania, Zimbabwe, and Uganda, including Fumba Chama (a.k.a. pilAto), a Zambian musician who is now serving as Permanent Secretary for Youth, Sports, and Arts.
Events
Zanzibar - Tanzania
ARC @ PANAF 2025
14 February 2025
The panel will discuss how to support artists at risk across the region, delving into the structures that currently exist as well as generating strategies for what needs to be developed.
Online
Artistic Freedom in Africa: Developing a Regional Strategy for Censorship Board Reform
6 December 2024
Hosted by Africa is a Country & ARC, the panel brings together artists and civil society leaders from across Africa engaged in censorship board reform.
Harare - Zimbabwe
Unexplored Opportunities and Possibilities for Zimbabwe’s Creative Industries
November 19, 2024
ARC's Africa Regional Representative is speaking at the Amplifaya Creative Business Summit in Zimbabwe, one of the largest gatherings of creative and culture professionals in the country.
Johannesburg - South Africa
ARC @ Southern Defenders 7th Summit
25 November 2024
Artists at Risk Connection (ARC), Nhimbe Trust, and the AMANI African Creative Defense Network present a panel discussion addressing the fundamental links between human rights and artistic freedom in Southern Africa. The session will discuss strategies of support for artistic rights, outline the need for legislative reform on censorship in the region, and present the global advocacy campaign to develop an Action Plan for the Protection of Artists.
Videos
Artistic Freedom in Africa: Developing a Regional Strategy for Censorship Board Reform
Artistic Freedom in Africa: Developing a Regional Strategy for Censorship Board Reform
Join Artists at Risk Connection (ARC) and Africa is a Country for an important panel on censorship board reform and the promotion of artistic freedom. Bringing together artists and civil society leaders from across the continent, it is the first Pan-African discussion aimed at understanding shared challenges and successes while developing a strategy for regional policy reform. Together, we will consider how to transform these boards into institutions that support and protect cultural expression. The panel aims to address shared challenges, celebrate successes, and chart a path for regional policy reform to foster a freer and more inclusive creative landscape across Africa.