In 2025, the United States has seen an upswell in actions threatening artistic freedom. Amid escalating concerns, this timely discussion will incorporate the perspectives of four musicians from around the world who use music as a catalyst for social change: Siddique Ahmed, Afghan bassist and member of Kabul Dreams; DJ Switch, Nigerian performing artist, disc jockey, and activist; David D’Omni, Cuban multidisciplinary artist and musician; and Nadine El Roubi, Sudanese rapper. Moderated by ARC Executive Director Julie Trébault, the event will explore common challenges musicians face abroad, informing a candid conversation on domestic affronts to creative expression and their impacts.

This event is part of New York Music Month (NYMM) in collaboration with the NYC Mayor’s Office of Media and Entertainment (MOME). NYMM is an annual citywide celebration of music and MOME initiative, first created in 2017. Every June, MOME brings together diverse artists, organizations, and other stakeholders, providing free programming that highlights the role of NYC as a global music capital.

Speakers
Siddique Ahmed, Afghanistan
DJ Switch, Nigeria
David D'Omni, Cuba
Nadine El Roubi, Sudan
Julie Trébault, ARC

https://artistsatriskconnection.org/event/arc-new-york-music-month/

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On February 28th, ARC hosted a virtual screening of "The Art of Exile" documentary series. Art of Exile, brings together three documentary shorts from directors Dara Kell and Veena Rao that recount the stories of a visionary, self-taught artist, a boundary-pushing novelist, and a defiant musician who challenge status quos, preconceived notions, and the boundaries of the permissible.

In “The Ex-Criminal” Egyptian novelist Ahmed Naji, weaves tales of youthful defiance, spending two years in prison during the height of Egypt’s crackdown on free expression. In “A Ship From Guantanamo,” Yemeni sculptor Moath al-Alwi creates magical boats out of found materials, while dreaming of freedom from his cell in Guantánamo. And in “I Sing What I See,” Vietnamese pop star Mai Khoi writes songs about sex pushes the boundaries of her craft in her quest to reinvent herself as a dissident. After the screening, musician Mai Khoi and novelist Ahmed Naji will give a live performance, followed by a Q&A with the artists and filmmakers. Moath al-Alwi, whose work is featured in A Ship from Guantánamo, will be represented by his lawyer Beth Jacob in the Q&A.

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COVID-19 has been a cataclysm for cultural rights, threatening a global “cultural catastrophe” with severe, long-lasting consequences for human rights if effective action is not taken immediately. The new report of the United Nations Special Rapporteur in the field of cultural rights, Karima Bennoune, to the Human Rights Council surveys the negative impacts of COVID-19 on cultures and cultural rights worldwide, and the positive potential of cultures and cultural rights to advance rights-respecting solutions and build resilience in the pandemic and post-pandemic.

In this virtual event, the Special Rapporteur will be joined by Cuban performance artist Tania Bruguera, English actor, writer, and theatre director Simon Callow, Zimbabwean cultural expert and producer Daves Guzha, co-founding Artistic Director of Belarus Free Theatre (BFT) Natalia Kaliada, and Executive Director of IFACCA Magdalena Moreno to consider these issues and address relevant recommendations for how to both better defend culture and cultural rights from the detrimental effects of the health crisis as well as levy culture to sustainability rebuild during and in the wake of the pandemic. Humanists International's Director of Advocacy Elizabeth O’Casey and Artists at Risk Connection's Director, Julie Trébault, will chair this event.

This public program is organized by ARC, Humanists International, and Freemuse.

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En esta primera sesión de “Arte en el Encierro”, tres colectivos artisticos y culturales latinoamericanos reflexionarán sobre la situación de pandemia vivida en diferentes paises, cuáles Chile, Colombia y México, donde el número de contagios está creciendo exponencialmente cada dia, y donde se han tomado medidas en muchos casos ambiguas y criticadas por sectores de la sociedad civil. Más allá de la crisis sanitaria, este evento se enfocará en el análisis de los efectos negativos que esta particular situación está surtiendo hacia la libre expresión artistica y los derechos humanos de activistas y creadores, en paises que registran indices particularmente preocupantes de violación. A través de sus experiencias y perspectivas de trabajo especificas, cada colectivo explorará estrategias para enfrentar la nueva situación de una manera eficaz, repensando el trabajo de artistas y defensores de derechos humanos en un contexto de transformación e incertidumbre, cómo el actual. Con la participación de tres miembros de importantes organizaciones artisticas y culturales latinoamericanas, Octavio Gana, Juana Salgado y Lucila Sandoval. La discusión será presentada por Julie Trebault, Directora de ARC y moderada por Alessandro Zagato, Encargado regional para America Latina de ARC.

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What are the challenges that artists are facing in the pandemic “new normality,” as this phase has been defined by governments and the media throughout the world? Can the work that artists produce while on lockdown inspire new visions of the future? How are these artworks influenced by the challenges to freedom of expression posed by the condition of lockdown and social distancing? The COVID-19 pandemic has deeply transformed the way in which artists and those defending freedom of expression operate. The current phase of “new normality” is deeply shaped by the social and economic consequences of several months of lockdown––including by episodes of aggression and censorship that artists have experienced in Latin America. Three prominent international artists will analyze the way in which their activities and creative approach have been affected by the pandemic. Through their artworks, they will also provide visions of the future that go beyond the crisis and allow artists and human rights defenders to imagine new possibilities for their practice as creators and human rights defenders.

The event is co-presented with CADAL, el Museo Universitario Arte Contemporáneo (MUAC), and PEN International, and moderated by ARC's director, Julie Trébault.

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Como parte de “Voces Presas”, una campaña dirigida por Artists at Risk Connection (ARC), PEN Internacional y Civil Rights Defenders (CRD), destacamos a María Cristina Garrido Rodríguez, poeta y activista cubana. Fue detenida el 12 de julio de 2021 y condenada a 7 años de prisión. Mientras cumple esa injusta condena en la prisión de El Guatao, ha sido sometida a diversos actos intimidatorios, tales como la prohibición de visitas y llamadas de familiares, así como el ostracismo, entre otras agresiones.

Conoce a María: https://artistsatriskconnection.org/story/maria-cristina-garrido-rodriguez

Únase a la campaña y conozca más sobre #VocesPresas: https://bit.ly/VocesPresas

Síganos:
X: @AtRiskArtists @CRDLatin @pen_int @PEN_LAC
Instagram: @AtRiskArtists @atriskartists_esp @crdefenders @peninternational
Facebook: @AtRiskArtists @civilrightsdefenders @peninternational

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As part of “Voces Presas”, a campaign led by Artists at Risk Connection (ARC), PEN International and Civil Rights Defenders (CRD), we highlight the case of María Cristina Garrido Rodríguez, a Cuban poet and activist. She was arrested on July 12, 2021 and sentenced to 7 years in prison. While serving her unjust sentence in El Guatao prison, she has been subjected to various intimidatory tactics, such as prohibition of visits and calls from family members, as well as general ostracizing and isolation, among other aggressions.

Learn more about María: https://artistsatriskconnection.org/story/maria-cristina-garrido-rodriguez

Join the campaign and learn more about #VocesPresas: https://bit.ly/VocesPresas

Follow us:
X: @AtRiskArtists @CRDLatin @pen_int @PEN_LAC
Instagram: @AtRiskArtists @atriskartists_esp @crdefenders @peninternational
Facebook: @AtRiskArtists @civilrightsdefenders @peninternational

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Como parte de “Voces Presas”, una campaña dirigida por Artists at Risk Connection (ARC), PEN Internacional, y Civil Rights Defenders (CRD), las organizaciones destacan a Maykel Castillo Pérez, también conocido como “el Osorbo”, músico y rapero cubano, quien recibió dos Latin Grammy como coautor de la canción “Patria y Vida”. A través de sus letras reclama libertad y justicia para su país. Fue condenado a nueve años en prisión. ARC, PEN Internacional y CRD condenan enérgicamente su encarcelamiento y piden su inmediata e incondicional liberación.

Conoce a Maykel: https://artistsatriskconnection.org/story/maykel-castillo-perez

Únase a la campaña y conozca más sobre #VocesPresas: https://bit.ly/VocesPresas

Síganos:
X: @AtRiskArtists @CRDLatin @pen_int @PEN_LAC
Instagram: @AtRiskArtists @atriskartists_esp @crdefenders @peninternational
Facebook: @AtRiskArtists @civilrightsdefenders @peninternational

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As part of the “Voces Presas” campaign, led by Artists at Risk Connection (ARC), PEN International, and Civil Rights Defenders (CRD), the organizations highlight the case of Maykel Castillo Pérez, also known as “el Osorbo,” a Cuban musician and rapper who has won two Latin Grammys as co-author of the song “Patria y Vida.” Through his lyrics he demands freedom and justice for his country. He was sentenced to nine years in prison. ARC, PEN International, and CRD strongly condemn his imprisonment and urge his immediate and unconditional release.

Learn more about Maykel: https://artistsatriskconnection.org/story/maykel-castillo-perez

Join the campaign and learn more about #VocesPresas: https://bit.ly/VocesPresas

Follow us:
X: @AtRiskArtists @CRDLatin @pen_int @PEN_LAC
Instagram: @AtRiskArtists @atriskartists_esp @crdefenders @peninternational
Facebook: @AtRiskArtists @civilrightsdefenders @peninternational

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Como parte de “Voces Presas”, una campaña dirigida por Artists at Risk Connection (ARC), PEN Internacional, and Civil Rights Defenders (CRD), las organizaciones destacan a Luis Manuel Otero Alcántara, artista multidisciplinario cubano reconocido mundialmente por su obra artística crítica y desafiante con el discurso oficial. Fue condenado a cinco años de prisión, con un juicio que se realizó a puerta cerrada. ARC, PEN Internacional y CRD condenan su encarcelamiento y piden su inmediata e incondicional liberación.

Conoce a Luis Manuel: https://artistsatriskconnection.org/story/luis-manuel-otero-alcantara-2

Únase a la campaña y conozca más sobre #VocesPresas: https://bit.ly/VocesPresas

Síganos:
X: @AtRiskArtists @CRDLatin @pen_int @PEN_LAC
Instagram: @AtRiskArtists @atriskartists_esp @crdefenders @peninternational
Facebook: @AtRiskArtists @civilrightsdefenders @peninternational

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As part of the “Voces Presas” campaign, led by Artists at Risk Connection (ARC), PEN International, and Civil Rights Defenders (CRD), the organizations highlight the case of Luis Manuel Otero Alcántara, a Cuban multidisciplinary artist recognized worldwide for his critical and challenging artistic work with the official discourse. Sentenced to five years in prison following a closed-door trial, ARC, PEN International, and CRD condemned his imprisonment and urged his immediate and unconditional release.

Learn more about Luis Manuel: https://artistsatriskconnection.org/story/luis-manuel-otero-alcantara-2

Join the campaign and learn more about #VocesPresas: https://bit.ly/VocesPresas

Follow us:
X: @AtRiskArtists @CRDLatin @pen_int @PEN_LAC
Instagram: @AtRiskArtists @atriskartists_esp @crdefenders @peninternational
Facebook: @AtRiskArtists @civilrightsdefenders @peninternational

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What does it mean for art institutions to operate in a world where censorship exists? Is it possible for museums to be both targeted by censorship and the perpetrators of it? How can museums use their platforms and resources to amplify the work of artists at risk?

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