Events
New York, NY
ARC @ World Voices Festival 2026
29 April 2025
In a conversation moderated by ARC Executive Director, Julie TrΓ©bault, writers ask: what do the journeys of human remains, cultural artifacts, and iconic artworks reveal about our history? What makes the violence and asymmetries that have shaped their extraction, preservation, and return both collective and deeply personal experiences?
New York - USA
Mai KhΓ΄i & The Dissidents
21 March 2026
Join Mai KhΓ΄i & The Dissidents:βBad Activistβ and βFive Years in Exileβ Album Release - A powerful 2-in-1 concert experience at National Sawdust in Brooklyn.
Online
ARC @ Artists Untangling Censorship with UNDOXX
19 March 2026
Artists Untangling Censorship is an online public conversation featuring UNDOXX organizers zavΓ© martohardjono and Maya Simone Z., alongside Patrick Bond (ARC), Adam Odsess-Rubin and Achiro P. Olwoch (National Queer Theater), and Minneapolis-based artist Leila Awadallah.
The Hague - The Netherlands
ARC @ Movies that Matter Festival
20 - 28 March 2026
At the internationally renowned Movies that Matter Festival in The Hague, filmmakers, human rights defenders, artists, and audiences from around the world come together to engage with powerful stories that confront injustice and inspire change. From 20 - 28 March 2026, through films and dialogues, the Festival affirms a shared conviction: that storytelling is not only a reflection of global realities, but a force capable of shaping them.
Addis Ababa - Ethiopia
PANAF 2026 – Addis Ababa, Ethiopia
6 - 8 February 2026
At the PANAF Summit 2026, artists, activists, policymakers, funders, and cultural leaders from across the continent will come together in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, to explore how creativity thrivesβand transformsβwithin todayβs shifting digital and economic realities. From 6β8 February 2026, PANAF Summit will once again affirm one message: that to be free to create is to be free to define the future.
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.
India
Leena Manimekalai
Sudan
Osman Obaid
Russia
Zhenya Berkovich
Nicaragua
Ludwing GΓ³mez
China
Rahima Mahmut
Palestine
Shareef Sarhan
Exhibitions
The Art of Resistance:
Contemporary Art from
Russia & Belarus
Curated by Vera Shengalia
Videos
PANAF 2025 - DAY 2
Podcasts
When pressure rises, artists often feel it first.
In a recent conversation on the Carolina Connection (@uncconnection) podcast, ARCβs U.S. Representative Patrick Bond reflects on how institutions under political pressure make artist and cultural workers less safe when they engage in censorious activity to mitigate institutional risk.
This moment connects directly to what weβre seeing across campuses and cultural spaces.
From printmaking workshops led by Raj Bunnag (@jungle_asian_redneck) at UNC to broader conversations around censorship, one thing is clear:
art remains a powerful tool to challenge power and spur reflection, resistance, and dialogue..
At ARC, we show up in these spaces because engaging with students, young artists, and academic communities is essential to protecting creative freedom at its roots.
π Comment "IN SOLIDARITY" below to show you stand with ARC in support of freedom of expression π
π§ Listen to the full 4-minute segment:
https://ow.ly/MAXu50YBsF9
#CensorshipAwareness #PoliticalPressure #ArtActivism #SupportArtists #CreativeFreedom #FreedomOfExpression
When pressure rises, artists often feel it first.
In a recent conversation on the Carolina Connection (@uncconnection) podcast, ARCβs U.S. Representative Patrick Bond reflects on how institutions under political pressure make artist and cultural workers less safe when they engage in censorious activity to mitigate institutional risk.
This moment connects directly to what weβre seeing across campuses and cultural spaces.
From printmaking workshops led by Raj Bunnag (@jungle_asian_redneck) at UNC to broader conversations around censorship, one thing is clear:
art remains a powerful tool to challenge power and spur reflection, resistance, and dialogue..
At ARC, we show up in these spaces because engaging with students, young artists, and academic communities is essential to protecting creative freedom at its roots.
π Comment "IN SOLIDARITY" below to show you stand with ARC in support of freedom of expression π
π§ Listen to the full 4-minute segment:
https://ow.ly/MAXu50YBsF9
#CensorshipAwareness #PoliticalPressure #ArtActivism #SupportArtists #CreativeFreedom #FreedomOfExpression
ARCβs Latest Connection Newsletter is out!
Artists and cultural workers continue to bear witness in times of crisisβdocumenting, questioning, and making visible what might otherwise be lost.
In this issue, we reflect on a world shaped by escalating conflict and shrinking civic spaceβand the growing risks faced by artists across the Middle East, Sudan, Ukraine, Gaza, and beyond.
Inside, youβll find:
π― Urgent insights on rising threats to artistic freedom worldwide
π¨ Stories of resilience, including Afghan painter Zahra Abrahimi
π Key advocacy milestones, from UNESCO to the African Union
π New data on the increasing threats faced by artists globally
π€ ARCβs ongoing work supporting artists in danger
As violence and authoritarianism intensify globally, threats to artists are no longer isolatedβthey are part of a persistent pattern. Yet artists continue to create, resist, and speak out.
πCheck out the link in our bio to suscribe & stay up-date
#ArtisticFreedom #HumanRights #ARCConnection
ARCβs Latest Connection Newsletter is out!
Artists and cultural workers continue to bear witness in times of crisisβdocumenting, questioning, and making visible what might otherwise be lost.
In this issue, we reflect on a world shaped by escalating conflict and shrinking civic spaceβand the growing risks faced by artists across the Middle East, Sudan, Ukraine, Gaza, and beyond.
Inside, youβll find:
π― Urgent insights on rising threats to artistic freedom worldwide
π¨ Stories of resilience, including Afghan painter Zahra Abrahimi
π Key advocacy milestones, from UNESCO to the African Union
π New data on the increasing threats faced by artists globally
π€ ARCβs ongoing work supporting artists in danger
As violence and authoritarianism intensify globally, threats to artists are no longer isolatedβthey are part of a persistent pattern. Yet artists continue to create, resist, and speak out.
πCheck out the link in our bio to suscribe & stay up-date
#ArtisticFreedom #HumanRights #ARCConnection
ποΈ At UNESCO: Advancing Protection for Artists in Emergency Situations
Last month at @UNESCO headquarters in Paris, ARC β Artists at Risk Connection participated in the Nineteenth Session of the Intergovernmental Committee of the UNESCO 2005 Convention on the Protection and Promotion of the Diversity of Cultural Expressions.
There, our International Advocacy Officer, @vivir.x engaged with 13 Member State delegations on a key priority: strengthening coordinated international action to protect artists in emergency situations, in line with UNESCOβs 2026β2027 strategic orientation.
π Ahead of the February session, ARC shared a policy memo with 34 delegations titled βToward a Coordinated Approach to the Protection of Artists in Emergency Situations,β which proposes mapping existing initiatives and identifying coordination gaps in supporting artists affected by armed conflict, displacement, and repression.
Growing concerns about the risks faced by artists in these contexts, echoed by several Member States during the plenary, are also reflected in UNESCOβs Defending Creative Voices report and in Resolution 10.CP 13 of June 2025 Conference of the Parties, which calls to protect and promote the diversity of cultural expressions, including in emergency situations, and to establish a comprehensive and strategic reflection process on the diversity of cultural expressions in such contexts.
Since 2017, ARC has supported more than 2,300 artists across 85 countries. This experience underscores the need for a stronger international framework and the responsibility of Member States to protect artists facing threats, conflict, and displacement. As the 2026β2027 cycle moves forward, ARC will continue contributing field-based expertise to help strengthen international coordination and practical mechanisms for protecting artists at risk.
Learn more about ARCβs years-long UN advocacy: https://ow.ly/rGTa50YxAJg #UNESCO #ProtectArtists #InternationalAdvocacy #ArtisticFreedom #CulturalDiversity #EmergencySupport #CreativeVoices
ποΈ At UNESCO: Advancing Protection for Artists in Emergency Situations
Last month at @UNESCO headquarters in Paris, ARC β Artists at Risk Connection participated in the Nineteenth Session of the Intergovernmental Committee of the UNESCO 2005 Convention on the Protection and Promotion of the Diversity of Cultural Expressions.
There, our International Advocacy Officer, @vivir.x engaged with 13 Member State delegations on a key priority: strengthening coordinated international action to protect artists in emergency situations, in line with UNESCOβs 2026β2027 strategic orientation.
π Ahead of the February session, ARC shared a policy memo with 34 delegations titled βToward a Coordinated Approach to the Protection of Artists in Emergency Situations,β which proposes mapping existing initiatives and identifying coordination gaps in supporting artists affected by armed conflict, displacement, and repression.
Growing concerns about the risks faced by artists in these contexts, echoed by several Member States during the plenary, are also reflected in UNESCOβs Defending Creative Voices report and in Resolution 10.CP 13 of June 2025 Conference of the Parties, which calls to protect and promote the diversity of cultural expressions, including in emergency situations, and to establish a comprehensive and strategic reflection process on the diversity of cultural expressions in such contexts.
Since 2017, ARC has supported more than 2,300 artists across 85 countries. This experience underscores the need for a stronger international framework and the responsibility of Member States to protect artists facing threats, conflict, and displacement. As the 2026β2027 cycle moves forward, ARC will continue contributing field-based expertise to help strengthen international coordination and practical mechanisms for protecting artists at risk.
Learn more about ARCβs years-long UN advocacy: https://ow.ly/rGTa50YxAJg #UNESCO #ProtectArtists #InternationalAdvocacy #ArtisticFreedom #CulturalDiversity #EmergencySupport #CreativeVoices
π¨ Yesterday, Lebanese painter Ali Sbeity, from the southern village of Kafra, was killed in an Israeli attack on Lebanon, as confirmed by his family.
π±π§ Ali Sbeity painted the South not as a landscape, but as a living memory, of loss, resilience, and quiet beauty.
The protection of artists and cultural workers is not peripheral. It is central to the protection of human rights, cultural rights, and freedom of expression. When artists are lost, entire histories and cultural lifelines are extinguished.
At a time when cultural voices are already under immense pressure, his death is a stark reminder that artists are often among the first to bear the cost of violenceβand among the most essential to preserving what must not be forgotten. β
π We call on the Israeli government to immediately halt attacks on civilians in Lebanon.
Read ARC`s full statement on our website.
#ArtisticFreedom #Lebanon #CulturalRights
π¨ Yesterday, Lebanese painter Ali Sbeity, from the southern village of Kafra, was killed in an Israeli attack on Lebanon, as confirmed by his family.
π±π§ Ali Sbeity painted the South not as a landscape, but as a living memory, of loss, resilience, and quiet beauty.
The protection of artists and cultural workers is not peripheral. It is central to the protection of human rights, cultural rights, and freedom of expression. When artists are lost, entire histories and cultural lifelines are extinguished.
At a time when cultural voices are already under immense pressure, his death is a stark reminder that artists are often among the first to bear the cost of violenceβand among the most essential to preserving what must not be forgotten. β
π We call on the Israeli government to immediately halt attacks on civilians in Lebanon.
Read ARC`s full statement on our website.
#ArtisticFreedom #Lebanon #CulturalRights
Are you worried about censorship?
Looking for concrete examples, strategies, and support to protect your artistic expression?
Youβre not alone. And you do not have to face this alone.
Join ARCβs U.S. Program Officer, Patrick Bond, alongside Leila Awadallah @leilawa.aa, Achiro P. Olwoch, and Adam Odsess-Rubin @adamodsessrubin_92 for a timely online panel session where speakers will share specific examples and practical resources for responding to censorship.
ARTISTS UNTANGLING CENSORSHIP: Stories & Resources for Artists Facing Censorship
This conversation will offer insight, support, and tools for artists navigating an increasingly challenging landscape for creative expression.
π March 19
β° 11 AMβ12:30 PM PT | 2β3:30 PM ET
π Online via Zoom
π Free or by donation
Hosted by @bridgelivearts in collaboration with @_undoxx_ , a NYC-based collective bringing together artists, activists, and advocates to build collective power in response to censorship. #ArtistResilienceToolkit #CensorshipAwareness #ArtAndCensorship #ArtCommunity
Are you worried about censorship?
Looking for concrete examples, strategies, and support to protect your artistic expression?
Youβre not alone. And you do not have to face this alone.
Join ARCβs U.S. Program Officer, Patrick Bond, alongside Leila Awadallah @leilawa.aa, Achiro P. Olwoch, and Adam Odsess-Rubin @adamodsessrubin_92 for a timely online panel session where speakers will share specific examples and practical resources for responding to censorship.
ARTISTS UNTANGLING CENSORSHIP: Stories & Resources for Artists Facing Censorship
This conversation will offer insight, support, and tools for artists navigating an increasingly challenging landscape for creative expression.
π March 19
β° 11 AMβ12:30 PM PT | 2β3:30 PM ET
π Online via Zoom
π Free or by donation
Hosted by @bridgelivearts in collaboration with @_undoxx_ , a NYC-based collective bringing together artists, activists, and advocates to build collective power in response to censorship. #ArtistResilienceToolkit #CensorshipAwareness #ArtAndCensorship #ArtCommunity
What role can museums play when artistic freedom and democratic values come under pressure?
At a time when arts and culture, public education, historical memory, and democratic norms face growing pressure, cultural institutions are navigating an increasingly complex environment.
In a new commentary for @theartsfuse, ARC Executive Director Julie TrΓ©bault reflects on the important role museums can play in sustaining artistic freedom, public dialogue, and historical understanding.
Museums are tasked with more than just preserving artefacts. They are civic spaces where communities encounter history, debate ideas, and imagine shared futures.
Read the full commentary at the link in bio.
#ArtisticFreedom
#FreedomOfExpression
#SupportArtists
#FreedomInFocus
#ArtAgainstOppression
#DefendDemocracy
#Censorship
#MuseumsMatter
#ArtAndDemocracy
#CulturalInstitutions #Museums
What role can museums play when artistic freedom and democratic values come under pressure?
At a time when arts and culture, public education, historical memory, and democratic norms face growing pressure, cultural institutions are navigating an increasingly complex environment.
In a new commentary for @theartsfuse, ARC Executive Director Julie TrΓ©bault reflects on the important role museums can play in sustaining artistic freedom, public dialogue, and historical understanding.
Museums are tasked with more than just preserving artefacts. They are civic spaces where communities encounter history, debate ideas, and imagine shared futures.
Read the full commentary at the link in bio.
#ArtisticFreedom
#FreedomOfExpression
#SupportArtists
#FreedomInFocus
#ArtAgainstOppression
#DefendDemocracy
#Censorship
#MuseumsMatter
#ArtAndDemocracy
#CulturalInstitutions #Museums
πHow can artists across Africa navigate growing pressure on artistic freedom?
And what does it take to build stronger systems of support?
These are some of the questions that shaped the 2026 Pan African Network on Artistic Freedom Summit last month in Addis Ababa.
Artists, cultural leaders, civil society actors, and policymakers examined the realities artists face and the power structures shaping creative ecosystems. The summit culminated in four collaborative working groups focused on residencies and relocation, legislative reform, research, and digital and physical mobility.
With more than 80 participants, PANAF 2026 moved beyond conversation toward meaningful coordination. ARC was proud to serve as a summit partner and help guide this collective effort.
Because protecting artists requires more than visibility. It requires coordination, dedicated infrastructure, and long-term commitments.
Thank you to long-time ARC collaborators Sarra Maali and @lisa_stapetape & shoutout to artists, @javan_thepoet, @monzaofficiel, @khalidalbaih, @mazin_peter_official, @mwanangwazombe, @naviomusic, and @spontaneous_the_poet. As well as @selammusic, @culture_resource, ARTVEDA @culturefundingwatch, @uvafrica, and @safehavensfreedomtalks, @africadefenders, @visualartszambia, as well as Hon Topsy Sonoo Oureveena (African Unionβs Special Rapporteur for Artistic Freedom) to share experiences and strategies for strengthening artistic freedom.
#ArtistsUnderThreat #FreedomOfExpression #ArtForChange
#SupportArtists #ArtistProtection #ARCinAfrica #ArtisticFreedom #GlobalSolidarity
πHow can artists across Africa navigate growing pressure on artistic freedom?
And what does it take to build stronger systems of support?
These are some of the questions that shaped the 2026 Pan African Network on Artistic Freedom Summit last month in Addis Ababa.
Artists, cultural leaders, civil society actors, and policymakers examined the realities artists face and the power structures shaping creative ecosystems. The summit culminated in four collaborative working groups focused on residencies and relocation, legislative reform, research, and digital and physical mobility.
With more than 80 participants, PANAF 2026 moved beyond conversation toward meaningful coordination. ARC was proud to serve as a summit partner and help guide this collective effort.
Because protecting artists requires more than visibility. It requires coordination, dedicated infrastructure, and long-term commitments.
Thank you to long-time ARC collaborators Sarra Maali and @lisa_stapetape & shoutout to artists, @javan_thepoet, @monzaofficiel, @khalidalbaih, @mazin_peter_official, @mwanangwazombe, @naviomusic, and @spontaneous_the_poet. As well as @selammusic, @culture_resource, ARTVEDA @culturefundingwatch, @uvafrica, and @safehavensfreedomtalks, @africadefenders, @visualartszambia, as well as Hon Topsy Sonoo Oureveena (African Unionβs Special Rapporteur for Artistic Freedom) to share experiences and strategies for strengthening artistic freedom.
#ArtistsUnderThreat #FreedomOfExpression #ArtForChange
#SupportArtists #ArtistProtection #ARCinAfrica #ArtisticFreedom #GlobalSolidarity
π Open Call: ASSEMBLE Fellowship for Displaced Artists, Curators, and Cultural Practitioners
Applications are now open for the ASSEMBLE Fellowship, an international program supporting artists, curators, and cultural practitioners with lived experience of forced migration and displacement.
Over 12 months (June 2026 β June 2027), selected fellows will develop a new curatorial project in their country of residence while exploring the climate emergency at the intersection of migration, displacement, conflict, and ecological decline.
π Eligibility
Artists, curators, and cultural practitioners with lived experience of displacement who are currently based in Cyprus, the Basque Country (Spain), or Ukraine.
The fellowship includes:
β’ Development of a new curatorial project with support from local partners
β’ Curatorial labs in Cyprus, Spain, and Ukraine
β’ A 10-day residency in the United Kingdom
β’ Participation in the On the Move Cultural Mobility Forum in Morocco
β’ A digital exhibition launching in June 2027
Each fellow will receive a β¬9,000 fee and a β¬6,000 production budget, alongside mentorship, networking opportunities, and institutional support.
π
Application deadline: 26 March 2026
π Learn more and apply on @assemble_europe bio
Co-Funded by the Creative Europe Programme of the European Union, the programme is implemented by D6EU @d6_eu_ , Congress of Cultural Activists @congress.of.cultural.activists , Moving Artists @movartists , and On the Move @otm.network, with associated partners including ARC β Artists at Risk Connection @atriskartists, @larnaka2030 , @d6culture .
#Fellowship #Artists
#ArtistsUnderThreat #SupportArtists #ArtForChange #AssembleEurope #ArtistOpenCall #ArtistFellowship #ArtistOpportunity
π Open Call: ASSEMBLE Fellowship for Displaced Artists, Curators, and Cultural Practitioners
Applications are now open for the ASSEMBLE Fellowship, an international program supporting artists, curators, and cultural practitioners with lived experience of forced migration and displacement.
Over 12 months (June 2026 β June 2027), selected fellows will develop a new curatorial project in their country of residence while exploring the climate emergency at the intersection of migration, displacement, conflict, and ecological decline.
π Eligibility
Artists, curators, and cultural practitioners with lived experience of displacement who are currently based in Cyprus, the Basque Country (Spain), or Ukraine.
The fellowship includes:
β’ Development of a new curatorial project with support from local partners
β’ Curatorial labs in Cyprus, Spain, and Ukraine
β’ A 10-day residency in the United Kingdom
β’ Participation in the On the Move Cultural Mobility Forum in Morocco
β’ A digital exhibition launching in June 2027
Each fellow will receive a β¬9,000 fee and a β¬6,000 production budget, alongside mentorship, networking opportunities, and institutional support.
π
Application deadline: 26 March 2026
π Learn more and apply on @assemble_europe bio
Co-Funded by the Creative Europe Programme of the European Union, the programme is implemented by D6EU @d6_eu_ , Congress of Cultural Activists @congress.of.cultural.activists , Moving Artists @movartists , and On the Move @otm.network, with associated partners including ARC β Artists at Risk Connection @atriskartists, @larnaka2030 , @d6culture .
#Fellowship #Artists
#ArtistsUnderThreat #SupportArtists #ArtForChange #AssembleEurope #ArtistOpenCall #ArtistFellowship #ArtistOpportunity