Freemuse Defending Artistic Freedom
Freemuse warns of the emergence of a new global culture of silencing others, where artistic expression is being shut down in every corner of the globe, including in the traditionally democratic West.
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Film
Freemuse calls on Russian authorities to release Ukrainian filmmaker Oleg Sentsov
Ukrainian filmmaker Oleg Sentsov has been on hunger strike since 14 May to demand the release of 64 Ukrainians held in Russia on political grounds.
Music
Freemuse calls for charges to be dropped against Zambian musician Pilato
The trial for Zambian musician Pilato has been adjourned until 24 September 2018.
All Arts
New regulations in Cuba to comprehensively control artists and their expression
Freemuse and Cadal call for urgent intervention from the international community to save free speech and cultural expression in Cuba.
Visual Arts
Freemuse renews call for Zehra Doğan to be released
Freemuse renews its call for Turkish authorities to release imprisoned artist Zehra Doğan, who was jailed over a painting.
Visual Arts
Freemuse calls for the immediate release of Bangladeshi photographer Shahidul Alam
Freemuse calls for the immediate release of Bangladeshi photographer and activist Shahidul Alam and charges against him to be dropped.
Literature
Freemuse condemns Israeli court prison sentence of Palestinian poet Dareen Tatour
On 31 July 2018, Palestinian poet Dareen Tatour was sentenced to five months in prison on charges of inciting terrorism over a poem and online posts.
Literature
Egyptian poet Galal El-Behairy sentenced to three years in jail
Egyptian poet Galal El-Behairy was sentenced to three years in jail and fined for “publishing false news” and “insulting the army” through his poetry.
Literature
Freemuse calls for release of Egyptian poet Galal El-Behairy
Freemuse calls for the release of poet Galal El-Behairy, who has been detained for 149 days, and for charges against him in two cases to be dropped.
July 2018: Spotlight on Turkey, LGBT, and Freemuse in Brussels
Growing hostilities in Turkey against artistic expression; Three cases of LGBT in the arts; Upcoming event with Culture Action Europe.
Music
Turkey: Two singers arrested on terrorism charges
Prior to the 2018 Turkish elections, two singers were arrested and charged within days of one another due to claims of alleged terrorist activities.
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The State of Artistic Freedom 2018
15 March 2018 -
Art Under Threat in 2016
8 February 2017 -
INSIGHT publication: Targeting the Arts 2016
10 May 2017 -
Freemuse report on the effects of terror on arts and culture
26 October 2016 -
Pakistan: The war on living arts in Swat
27 June 2016
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Drop charges against musician Ferhat Tunç in Turkey
4 December 2017Ferhat Tunç is being prosecuted for his peaceful expression … again. For the last 10 years of his over 30-year career as an artist, Ferhat has been the target of numerous government investigations and cases against him because of his music and other peaceful expressions. Ferhat is now having to defend himself in three new cases against him. Together, the charges amount to more than 13 years imprisonment. Your actions are important and can make a difference in Ferhat’s life and the lives of others like him in Turkey. Stand in solidarity with these artists and demand that Turkey drop all the charges against Ferhat Tunç.
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Open letter to the President of Equatorial Guinea: Release artist and writer Ramón Esono Ebalé
16 November 2017 -
Let Women Sing
21 July 2017 -
In prison for a year in Iran; artists call for musician’s and filmmaker’s release
1 June 2017 -
Turkey: Seven members of Grup Yorum arrested
3 December 2016
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Freemuse and CADAL joint letter to the European Union’s EEAS
4 June 2018Cadal and Freemuse pen joint letter calling on the Delegation of the European Union in Cuba to defend the right to freedom of expression in Cuba.
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New regulations in Cuba to comprehensively control artists and their expression
8 August 2018 -
Equatorial Guinea: Artist, Finally Free, Leaves Country
30 May 2018 -
Freemuse and the Society for Ethnomusicology Announce Agreement in Support of Freedom of Artistic Expression
30 May 2018 -
Equatorial Guinea: Artist Freed from Prison
7 March 2018
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July 2018: Spotlight on Turkey, LGBT, and Freemuse in Brussels
26 July 2018Growing hostilities in Turkey against artistic expression; Three cases of LGBT in the arts; Upcoming event with Culture Action Europe.
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June 2018: Three cases of prosecution in Egypt, Zambia and Turkey
29 June 2018 -
May 2018: Three troubling cases in Spain, Zambia and Egypt
25 May 2018 -
March 2018: Music Freedom Day and The State of Artistic Freedom Report
1 March 2018 -
November 2017: Cartoonist detained over 60 days with no charge
23 November 2017
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USA: Trump and Trauma, Threats and Tribalism: Art Censorship and a Divisive Presidency
15 January 2018A look at the most representative issues affecting artistic freedom in the first year of the Trump administration.
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Saudi Arabia: Artists redraw 21st century identity
28 November 2017 -
Brazil: Sponsorship of cultural activities limits freedom of expression
16 November 2017 -
Censorship in Nigeria: Musical free expression in the shadow of Fela
10 July 2017 -
Turkey: A prolonged tragedy for theatre
11 May 2017
The Malaysian government ordered the removal of two LGBT activists’ portraits from an exhibition. Photographer Mooreyameen Mohamad said the directive "breaches our rights as Malaysians to artistic expression. I will continue to assert our rights."
Read more here 👉 ow.ly/D6dX30lqw3e
An art exhibition ad featuring this Picasso painting was blocked by Facebook because of its nudity policy. The Montreal Museum of Fine Arts tried using three different images before taking up its case with Facebook.
Read more here 👉 ow.ly/y6Cr30lpEF2
Disney’s new Winnie the Pooh film Christopher Robin won’t be shown in Chinese cinemas after the country’s film authorities denied its release.
The move could be part of China’s crackdown on Winnie the Pooh images, which have been used to parody Chinese President Xi Jinping in recent years.
Read more here 👉 ow.ly/HTEv30loH7S
A Nigerian radio station has been fined by the National Broadcasting Commission for playing music with “vulgar and indecent” lyrics, such as This Is Nigeria by rapper Falz. His lyrics include: "This is Nigeria. Look how we living now, everybody be criminal."
Read more here 👉 ow.ly/P9B130llLcV
Zambian musician Chama Fumba, also known as Pilato, returns to court today—10 August—over charges related to participation in a September 2017 peaceful protest outside parliament concerning the purchase of 42 fire-fighting vehicles for 850,000 euros ($1 million USD) each, which was widely seen as exorbitant and a misuse of public funds.
Read more here 👉 ow.ly/APMP30llDaD
Have you signed up for our Listen to the Silenced event about the state of artistic freedom in Europe? Freemuse and Culture Action Europe bring the debate to Brussels on 4 September, hosted by MEP Julie Ward S&D.
Register here 👉 ow.ly/iU9W30lkKyz
Freemuse and CADAL call for urgent intervention from the international community to save free speech and cultural expression, after the Cuban government published a new decree that institutionalizes censorship of independent art and culture.
Read more here 👉 ow.ly/1zI930ljRtr
#Noaldecreto349 impunity and tyrant has no place in a modern world
Felipe Monteiro
Yanelys Nuñez Leyva Luis Manuel Otero Alcantara
Imprisoned Turkish artist Zehra Doğan isn’t allowed to paint in jail. She makes do with what she has—using food scraps for colour, honey for glue and discarded wrappers for canvases—yet Turkish guards continue to destroy her artwork, claiming it is forbidden.
Freemuse renews its call for Turkish authorities to release Zehra Doğan.
Read more here 👉 ow.ly/ORZR30ljSL7
Freemuse calls for the immediate release of Shahidul Alam and charges against him to be dropped. The renowned Bangladeshi photographer and activist was arrested and charged with making “provocative comments” on 5 August.
Read more here 👉 ow.ly/3xRq30liOAG
K-Pop star Jimin, from boy band BTS, has received a second death threat ahead of the group’s upcoming Love Yourself world tour, which kicks off later this month.
Read more here 👉 ow.ly/29Zc30lhIHa
On 1 August 2018, Cuban musician and lead singer of the punk-rock band Porno para Ricardo, Gorki Águila was temporarily detained and held in a police car under sweltering temperatures for almost two hours in Havana.
Read more here 👉 ow.ly/D2NT30lfJBT
An art gallery in Portland, Oregon removed a controversial image from its front window that showed Donald Trump having his throat cut with a knife, after the gallery received threats of violence.
Read more here 👉 ow.ly/fVe830lfHK7
A 14-year-old boy in England was banned from performing a drag act at his school’s end-of-year talent show because it was deemed “age inappropriate”.
Read more here 👉 ow.ly/90mX30lfGJn
❗️Café owner forced to have murals of London officials removed❗️
On 19 July 2018, Camden Council removed murals depicting London mayor Sadiq Khan wearing a mankini and Prime Minister Theresa May wearing lingerie decorated with EU stars. The street art was displayed on the Food Bazaar Café. The council claimed the works fell into a “contentious” category, which includes anything determined to be “obscene, racist, political, and religious”.
Café owner Said Effafali remarked that the murals were positive for his business and believes that they were only removed because it depicted British officials.
Read more here 👉 ow.ly/xlms30leGFI
❗️Indian novelist threatened over publication❗️
On 21 July 2018, Malayalam writer S Hareesh announced that he would no longer be publishing installments of his novel Meesha (Moustache) in Malayalam weekly Mathrubhumi.
Right-wing extremists were angered at the writer and alleged that his novel portrayed Hindu women to be indecent, specifically focusing on a conversation between two characters in which one of them remarks that well-dressed girls who visit temples are unknowingly insinuating their readiness for sex. The extremists have disrupted events promoting the novel and have issued violent threats against the writer and his family.
Read more here 👉 ow.ly/yKGy30leBpV
📷 Wikipedia Commons
Popular Tanzanian hip hop artist Diamond Platnumz (real name Naseeb Abdul Juma) was blocked from boarding an international flight on 26 July 2018 because he failed to get a permit from the Tanzanian national arts council—Baraza la Sanaa la Taifa (BASATA)—to perform overseas.
Read more here 👉 ow.ly/g8LM30lep7l
❗️Sentencing Alert❗️
On 31 July 2018, Palestinian poet Dareen Tatour was sentenced to five months in Israeli prison on the charge of inciting terrorism and supporting Palestinian armed group Islamic Jihad who are considered a terrorist group by the Israeli government.
Read more here 👉 ow.ly/rnPI30lep34
❗️Sentencing Alert❗️
Egyptian poet Galal El-Behairy was sentenced to three years in jail and fined 10,000 Egyptian pounds (480 euros) on 31 July for “publishing false news” and “insulting the army” through his poetry.
Read more here 👉 ow.ly/1z7430ldHsT
On 4 July 2018, nine members of Teatr.Doc were detained by Moscow police officers who refused to provide a legitimate reason for having approached the group while they were walking through a city park. The officers said the theatre members appeared as though they were using drugs.
Read more here 👉 ow.ly/D4sj30lbdQ0
On 11 July 2018, the University of Kansas removed an altered US flag displayed on campus as part of a national art exhibition after criticism from politicians including the state’s governor Jeff Colyer.
Read more here 👉 ow.ly/X2B630laTTM
The Malaysian government ordered the removal of two #LGBT activists’ portraits from a #photography exhibition by @mooreyameen at @GT_Festival
Read more here 👉 https://t.co/GEEM8lkvhM
We stand with @Freemuse98 in renewing their call for #Turkish authorities to release #artist Zehra Dogan. Zehra’s imprisonment is an attack on #FreeExpression. Read the full statement here: https://t.co/uvQP4vncro #ArtIsNotACrime
An advert with this #Picasso painting was blocked by Facebook because of its nudity policy. The Montreal Museum of Fine Arts tried using three different images before taking up its case with the social media giant.
Read more here 👉 https://t.co/8hZHYrHlga
Disney’s new Winnie the Pooh film #ChristopherRobin has been denied release in #China. The move could be part of China’s crackdown on #WinnieThePooh images, which have been used to mock Chinese President Xi Jinping in recent years.
Read more here 👉 https://t.co/2lWfVvXEq1
A Nigerian radio station has been fined for playing music with “vulgar and indecent” lyrics, including This Is Nigeria by rapper Falz @falzthebahdguy. His "vulgar" lyrics: 'This is Nigeria. Look how we living now, everybody be criminal'
Read more here 👉 https://t.co/fK18Gv4IsU
The court hearing for Zambian musician Chama Fumba @iampilato resumes today— 10 August 2018. He has been on a 30,000 kwacha (2,480 euros) bail since 21 May over charges related to participation in a September 2017 peaceful protest.
Read more here 👉https://t.co/xibmEf33bD
Have you signed up for our Listen to the Silenced event about the state of artistic freedom in Europe? @Freemuse98 and @actforculture bring the debate to Brussels on 4 September, hosted by @julie4nw.
Register here 👉 https://t.co/99G7cU2jT0
Imprisoned Turkish artist Zehra Doğan isn’t allowed to paint in jail. She uses what she has — food scraps for colour and discarded wrappers for canvases— yet guards destroy her artwork.
Freemuse renews its call for Turkish authorities to release Doğan 👉 https://t.co/Dbluy0y2m4
Cadal and @freemuse98 call for urgent intervention from the international community to save free speech and cultural expression in Cuba vía @PuenteDemo
Cadal and Freemuse call for urgent intervention from the international community to save free speech and cultural expression. CADAL
CADAL and Freemuse call on the international community to raise concern to Cuban President Miguel Díaz-Canel that the new decree is inconsistent with...
www.puentedemocratico.org
Freemuse calls for the immediate release of Shahidul Alam @shahidul and charges against him to be dropped. The #Bangladesh photographer & activist was arrested & charged with making “provocative comments”. #FreeShahidulAlam
Read more here 👉 https://t.co/1zpd8bSIKz
#Kpop star #Jimin, a vocalist in boy band BTS @bts_bighit @BTS_twt , has received another death threat ahead of the group’s upcoming Love Yourself world tour.
Read more here 👉 https://t.co/kAqzv1NHlM
#Cuban musician and lead singer of the #punkrock band Porno para Ricardo, #GorkiÁguila was temporarily #detained and held in a #police car under sweltering temperatures for almost two hours in #Havana.
Read more here 👉 https://t.co/WBejuAlCuj
An #art gallery in Portland, Oregon removed a controversial #artwork showing Donald Trump having his throat cut with a knife, after receiving threats of violence. @OneGrandGallery @realDonaldTrump
Read more here 👉 https://t.co/eiqzkKx8c9
Lewis Bailey aka @TheAthenaHeart was banned from performing a #dragact at his school’s end-of-year talent show in the UK because it was deemed “age inappropriate”. #LGBT #pride
Read more here 👉 https://t.co/CwpFFnaLUG
#CamdenCouncil removed #murals depicting #London mayor #SadiqKhan wearing a mankini and Prime Minister #TheresaMay wearing lingerie decorated with EU stars on claims that the works fell into a “contentious” category.
Read more here 👉 https://t.co/JjpCbeqxn5
#Malayalam writer #SHareesh announced that he would no longer be publishing installments of his novel #Meesha in #Malayalam weekly #Mathrubhumi due to violent actions and threats from right-wing #extremists.
Read more here 👉 https://t.co/MqouZt85tV
📷Wikipedia Commons
#Tanzanian hip hop artist #DiamondPlatnumz was blocked from boarding an international flight on 26 July 2018 because he failed to get a permit from the #Tanzanian national arts council to perform overseas.
Read more here 👉 https://t.co/3MEFiWm5zh
#Palestinian poet #DareenTatour was #sentenced to five months in #Israeli prison on the charge of inciting terrorism and supporting #Palestinian armed group Islamic Jihad who are considered a terrorist group by the #Israeli government
Read more here 👉 https://t.co/QnhJx6NzZu
#Egyptian poet #GalalElBehairy was #sentenced to three years in jail and fined 10,000 Egyptian pounds (480 euros) on 31 July for “publishing false news” and “insulting the army” through his #poetry. #FreeGalal
Read more here 👉 https://t.co/UgUHkoH6Sk
Nine members of #TeatrDoc were detained by #Moscow police who refused to provide a legitimate reason for having approached the group while they were walking through a city park.
Read more here 👉 https://t.co/4olV35RN7K
