The Freemuse Award 2014 is given to The City of Harstad, Norway, which last year declared itself as the world’s first ‘Safe city for musicians’. Harstad is a city of 23,000 citizens, situated 300 kilometres north of the polar circle. Marianne Bremnes, Mayor of Harstad, says: “The city of Harstad …

Norwegian and Sámi singer Mari Boine speaks about her personal experiences with the religious ban of joik singing. The interview was recorded when Mari Boine participated in an event in Norway to mark the annual Music Freedom Day in March 2008.   Mari Boine grew up in an environment where …

‘RED ZONE – FREE THE ARTS’ is an international celebration of freedom of expression in art and culture, which will be held in Norway from 28 February to 3 March 2013 The famous Middle Eastern artists Tania Saleh, Rim Banna, Mohamad Abla and Syrian Bear Yumal are headlining the international …

 See the Music Freedom Day concert at Oslo’s Nobel Peace Center: nrk.no/nett-tv What happened on Music Freedom Day in 2008?3 March 2008 was observed as a global ‘Music Freedom Day’. Seminars and concerts were held in Norway, Afghanistan and Congo-Brazzaville. The concert in Oslo was broadcasted on national radio in …

Norwegian arts festival rejected six Israeli dancers over government's use of "propaganda" to "whitewash ... oppression of the Palestinian people".

A man tore down and took 4 of the 25 works by cartoonist Arifur Rahman on display at an exhibition set up for newly arrived asylum seekers in Drøbak.

The Russian Consulate General in Kirkenes, a town in north-eastern Norway near the Russian border, has interfered with a literature festival in the area by voicing its concern over a sold-out concert to be held on 17 November 2016 by Norwegian folk musician Moddi and Russian Arkhangelsk Chamber Orchestra, reported …

“Artistic and creative expressions, as an integral part of the human right to freedom of expressions, is critical both to the development of cultures and to the functioning of democratic societies,” said a declaration by the Nordic Ministers of Culture adopted at a seminar on 2 May 2016 during the World …

On 28 October 2015, Nobel Peace Centre in Oslo, Norway, hosted a two-hour event called ‘Let’s talk about freedom’, where Freemuse’s Daniel Brown was the moderator. Part 1  Children are the hope of the future. But what happens to the children and youth fleeing from war zones? Who are they …

Music Freedom Day 2015 in Harstad, Norway, was opened by the president of the Norwegian Parliament, Olemic Thommessen. In his speech he talked about music and freedom of expression.   “There are few with the power to convey something about the society we live in with such depth, complexity and …