Statements
Protección de Artistas en Riesgo – América Latina y el Caribe
(PAR)
PAR is a protection network for artists-at-risk in Latin America and the Caribbean
Artist
stories
Stories of at-risk artists from Latin America and the Caribbean who are committed to protecting their right to freedom of expression and using their art to fight for justice.
Colombia
Jota Ramos
Chile
LASTESIS
Mexico
Saúl Kak
Nicaragua
Ludwing Gómez
Cuba
Carolina Barrero
Brazil
Wagner Schwartz
Meetings & Workshops
ARC organizes meetings and workshops with artists and other stakeholders around the world to advance artistic freedom.
Workshop: Exploring Gender in Latin American Art: Coloniality, Power, and Feminine Expression, 2023
As a mechanism for connecting to more women and non-binary artists spanning the entire region and fortifying its partnerships with organizations in Colombia, ARC hosted a regional workshop on December 14 and 15 titled “Exploring Gender in Latin American Art: Coloniality, Power, and Feminine Expression” in Bogotá, Colombia. The workshop was a collaborative effort with Cartel Urbano, Fundación Karisma, and Fondo de Acción Urgente, and convened 20 women and non-binary artists from 10 countries: Mexico, Guatemala, Costa Rica, Panama, Honduras, Ecuador, Colombia, Bolivia, Peru, and Argentina, together with three additional participants from partner organizations.
Participants learned about and brainstormed social and collective initiatives for safe spaces for women artists, including allied organizations, networks, and collectives in each represented country. Through intense discussions, the workshop served as a catalyst for collective empowerment, collaboration, and transformative dialogue, contributing significantly to the ongoing efforts to address the unique challenges faced by women and non-binary artists in the Latin American artistic landscape.
Workshop: Art and Territorial and Cultural Defense in Abya Yala, Chiapas, Mexico, 2023
On May 29 and 30, 2023, ARC organized a regional workshop in Chiapas, Mexico in partnership with PEN Pluricultural Chiapas, and the Muy Gallery of San Cristóbal de Las Casas. Titled “Art and Territorial and Cultural Defense in Abya Yala,” the workshop brought together 13 distinguished indigenous artists from across Latin America, facilitating an intensive exploration of the unique challenges and risks faced by indigenous artists and their communities throughout Latin America.
Indigenous artists are often at the helm of activist movements, resisting the challenges their communities are facing from extractive projects, forced displacements, and the imposition of Western lifestyles. As a result, they are highly vulnerable to government repression, highlighting the need for collaborative connections between indigenous artists from different ethnicities in the region.An important outcome of the workshop is the acknowledgment that the challenges faced by indigenous groups across Latin America share commonalities, underscoring the need for a regional approach.
Throughout the event, indigenous artists shared their experiences and artworks, exploring profound themes such as identity, coloniality, and the defense of ancestral territories and cultures. This workshop evolved into an inspiring space for empowerment and unity, and the interaction generated ideas for new forms of amplification of indigenous voices in the realm of cultural and territorial defense.
Events
Online
ARC @ Censurados Film Festival 2025
20 January 2025
ARC is pleased to participate in the Censurados Film Festival 2025, celebrating cinema and critical reflection in contexts of censorship and repression bringing together filmmakers, cultural managers, and activists to discuss challenges and strategies for defending cinema and freedom of expression.
Chiapas - Mexico, Michigan - US
Palestine Cinema Days
2 November 2024
ARC is co-organizing two screenings with Acción Palestina Chiapas in Chiapas, Mexico, and the Arab American National Museum in Dearborn, Michigan. Acción Palestina Chiapas raises awareness of human rights abuses faced by Palestinians, connecting Mexicans with Middle Eastern realities. In Michigan, the Arab American National Museum—dedicated to telling Arab American stories—has been a center for organized advocacy, with artists and cultural workers calling on leaders to support a ceasefire.
Online
Mobility Webinar: Internationalisation and the Caribbean
25 September 2024
Join ARC for On the Move's Mobility Webinar: Internationalisation and the Caribbean! On the Move and the ACP-EU CULTURE have partnered to explore the international cultural mobility flows from, to, and within the Caribbean region.
Oxford - England
Cuban Migrant Artists Exhibition @ PEN 90th Congress
24-27 September 2024
As part of the 90th PEN International Congress, Artists at Risk Connection (ARC) and PEN International invite the international community to uplift and celebrate Cuban artistic voices in the diaspora through their exhibition “Constellations of Cuba: Resignifying the Past, Reimagining the Future.”
San Jose - Costa Rica
RightsCon 2023 | Art in the Age of Automatic Production: Regulation and Social Implications
6 June 2023
Over the last few years, artificial intelligence and machine learning have developed the unprecedented capability to automatically produce artworks and cultural objects. This trend has become extremely popular – and highly controversial – within and outside the art world, presenting challenges that directly address the ideas of authorship and art production. This session aims to discuss the impact of artificial intelligence and machine learning on artistic and cultural production.
Videos
Arte Feminista y Pandemia de COVID-19
Arte Feminista y Pandemia de COVID-19
Estás invitad@ a participar en este evento virtual con la rapera y poeta Rebeca Lane, la activista feminista Danitza Luna de Mujeres Creando, y la investigadora y curadora Helena Chávez Mac Gregor, moderado por la periodista Verónica Maza Bustamante de PEN International. Nuestras invitadas reflexionarán sobre las consecuencias de la crisis actual en el arte femenino y feminista, destacando las tensiones y respuestas desde el arte feminista que se están dando en diferentes países.
Luis Manuel Otero Alcántara - Voces Presas
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
María Cristina Garrido Rodríguez - Voces Presas
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
Incarcerated Voices | A Campaign
In Cuba today, artists are in danger. For the simple act of creating art-whether music, film, literature, performance-or for being artivists and demonstrating peacefully, they are often imprisoned or persecuted. Many artists, harassed for expressing themselves, are “Voces Presas” (“Incarcerated Voices”)-victims of repression and state violence, who are even forced into exile. The “Voces Presas” campaign by PEN International, Artists at Risk Connection (ARC) and Civil Rights Defenders (CRD) that brings the stories of persecuted artists to the forefront of the discussion on art and human rights, issuing a global call for their immediate release.
Join the campaign and learn more about #VocesPresas: https://bit.ly/VocesPresas
Follow us:
X: @AtRiskArtists @CRDLatin @pen_int @PEN_LAC
Instagram: @AtRiskArtists @crdefenders @peninternational
Facebook: @AtRiskArtists @civilrightsdefenders @peninternational
Arte y Visiones del Futuro en la Nueva Normalidad Pandémica
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.
Maykel Castillo Pérez “el Osorbo” - Voces Presas
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
Arte en el Encierro
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.
Voces Presas | Una Campaña
Hoy en día en Cuba, los artistas están en peligro. Por el simple hecho de crear arte—ya sea música, cine, literatura, performance—o por ser artivistas y manifestarse pacíficamente, a menudo son encarcelados o perseguidos. Muchos artistas, acosados por expresarse de manera diferente, son Voces Presas—víctimas de la represión y la violencia estatal, que incluso son forzadas al exilio. La campaña "Voces Presas" de PEN Internacional, Artists at Risk Connection (ARC) y Civil Rights Defenders (CRD) visibiliza las historias de artistas perseguidos y hace un llamado global por su liberación.
Únete a la campaña y entérate de #VocesPresas: https://bit.ly/VocesPresas
Síguenos:
X: @AtRiskArtists @CRDLatin @pen_int @PEN_LAC
Instagram: @AtRiskArtists @crdefenders @peninternational
Facebook: @AtRiskArtists @civilrightsdefenders @peninternational
Ataque a los derechos indígenas en América Latina
Contaremos con la participación de Juana Paillalef, directora del Museó mapuche de Cañete (Chile) y Sara Curruchich, cantante y compositora de origen kaqchikel (Guatemala). Conversaremos sobre cómo con la pandemia de Covid-19 se han agudizado los ataques a la libertad de expresión y los derechos de los pueblos indígenas de Latinoamérica. Nuestras invitadas nos platicarán sobre cómo están resistiendo estos ataques y sobre cómo las artes y la cultura están jugando un papel decisivo en esta lucha para sobrevivir y florecer.
El evento es co-presentado con PEN International y el Museo Mapuche de Cañete.