Artists with minority background – either cultural, ethnical, or racial – have often been subject to discrimination by a dominant group in their society. 

Minority artists can experience varying forms of violations against their artistic freedom, from sporadic incidents to more systemic endeavours for silencing minority voices. Freemuse research shows that these violations are directly proportional to the general state of minority rights in their country which are in some societies restricted on the grounds of the national security.

In societies where some ethnic groups have been perceived as a threat to country’s sovereignty, minority artists who are vocal about the position of their ethnic group are often subject to fabricated charges of separatist, terrorist, or extremist activities. Further, artistic expressions which express solidarity towards a certain minority’s struggle and discrimination in their society are prone to damage, destruction, and censorship.