State of Artistic Freedom Report 2020 to be Launched Online  

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Ole Reitov, Freemuse
Ole Reitov, Freemuse

The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) in Sweden; Freemuse, KonstnärernasRiksorganisation (the Artists National Organization) in Sweden, and the Swedish Arts Council will on April 15, 2020  hold a digital breakfast seminar to discuss the current state of artistic freedom globally. The seminar which will be live-streamed on YouTube will be used to commemorate the World Art Day.

Dr Srirak Plipat, Freemuse Executive Director will, on the occasion, make a presentation of the State of Artistic Freedom 2020 report.

The seminar will include keynote addresses from Amanda Lind, Minister for Culture and Democracy, Sweden; Hilde Klemetsdal, Director for Human Rights, Democracy and Gender Equality in the Norwegian Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Kajsa Ravin, Director General, Swedish Arts Council.

With the Coronavirus (Covid-19) pandemic, the world has collectively shifted online in isolation, eliciting the question: what does this mean for the state of artistic freedom? In some countries, this means mass surveillance and censorship. In others, this equates to even more losses to the civil society space and cultural sphere. In the only public space that we can access – online and social media platforms – this means further limitations on women and some specific groups that even under normal circumstances face severe targeting which limits their artistic freedom.

 The state of artistic freedom is in a critical state and on World Art Day, everyone is invited to join the conversation about the state of art and culture, its challenges and how the world can improve the right to freedom of artistic expression for all.

Registration is free and can be done online here.