Artistic Freedom Initiative

Artistic Freedom Initiative Artistic Freedom Initiative (AFI) facilitates pro-bono legal services & resettlement for artists.

05/28/2026

🎻 Last seats available for Ana Carla Maza in Geneva this Sunday.

As part of her Alamar Tour, Ana Carla Maza brings a vibrant musical journey blending Latin jazz, Afro-Caribbean rhythms, Cuban traditions, and classical music.

A powerful evening about memory, roots, freedom, and movement ✨

đź“… May 31, 2026 | 5:30 PM
📍 Conservatoire Populaire de Genève
🎟️ Ticket & info in bio

Looking forward to seeing you there!

We’re reflecting on our time working with Salvadoran multidisciplinary artivist Crack Rodriguez.Over the past year, it h...
05/27/2026

We’re reflecting on our time working with Salvadoran multidisciplinary artivist Crack Rodriguez.

Over the past year, it has been a privilege to learn from Crack’s art, stories, and experiences rebuilding career and community in the United States. His work—and his generosity in sharing it—is a testament to artists' courage as they continue creating, advocating, and building community after displacement.

✨️ We’re proud to count extraordinary artists like Crack as members of AFI’s network, and we’re grateful to champion art rooted in resilience and justice.

05/26/2026

Thank you NEXUS for inviting AFI to join your community at the Global Summit in NYC last week! It was an honor to share our work, advocate for artistic freedom, and demonstrate the power of art to catalyze social change.

We’re especially proud of the performances by AFI musicians in residence Mehrnam Rastegari and Mai Khôi, visionary artists who remind us that artistic freedom is vital to building resilient, just societies and imagining new possibilities for the future.

05/25/2026

Throwback to AFI’s panel discussion at the UN Human Rights Council, where artists and advocates came together to speak on the growing censorship and targeting of artists under authoritarian regimes.

Afghan filmmaker Sahraa Karimi, who was forced to flee Afghanistan following the Taliban’s return in 2021, shared the realities artists face in exile and the urgent need to protect artistic freedom worldwide.

“[Afghan artists] were ambassadors of our stories… we are in exile for that.” ~Sahraa Karimi

➡️ Moments like these remind us why defending artistic freedom matters.

05/22/2026

🎻 Ana Carla Maza — ALAMAR Tour

A music that moves across borders.
Shaped by exile, love, and resilience.

Exile is a complex journey.
Leaving a country also means carrying memory, language, music, and identity across borders.

With ALAMAR, Cuban-Chilean artist Ana Carla Maza transforms personal history into a luminous musical journey shaped by roots, departure, resilience, and joy. Born in Alamar, Havana, in a building that once sheltered Chilean children in exile after 1973, her album becomes a dialogue between memory and transmission.

At ILA, we support artists whose freedom, safety, or future have been threatened by censorship, persecution, or displacement. Through Heritage & Exile, we believe music can become a space of solidarity, protection, and connection between cultures.

đź“… May 31, 2026 | 5:30 PM
📍 Conservatoire populaire de Genève, Rue François D’Ivernois 7, 1206 Genève
🎟️ Link in bio

Thank you for their support

The team at Artistic Freedom Initiative extends a heartfelt thank you to the brilliant team behind & Juliet for their ge...
05/20/2026

The team at Artistic Freedom Initiative extends a heartfelt thank you to the brilliant team behind & Juliet for their generous support of our work. đź’›

Artistic Freedom Initiative safeguards immigrant artists who have been displaced by censorship or persecution, helping them rebuild their creative lives in safety. We are so grateful to share that commitment with the & Juliet family. By contributing to our work protecting at-risk artists, they’re showing how creativity and compassion can come together to make a real difference.

✨From our AFI family to yours, thank you for the magic you’re creating for artists on and off the stage.

“Storytelling is both a craft and a responsibility.” ~Achiro P. OlwochWe’re grateful to have had Achiro P. Olwoch as our...
05/19/2026

“Storytelling is both a craft and a responsibility.” ~Achiro P. Olwoch

We’re grateful to have had Achiro P. Olwoch as our Community Artist Leader—she spent a year with us, mentoring two writer-performers as part of our Artist Community Network pilot. A writer, director, and producer from Gulu, Uganda, Achiro brings powerful perspectives on identity, memory, and resistance into both her artistic practice and mentorship.

Thank you, Achiro, for sharing your generosity, curiosity, expertise, and voice with this year’s ACN cohort.

➡️ Click the link below to learn more about ACN.
https://artisticfreedominitiative.org/resettlement/artist-community-network/

AFI recently submitted three contributions to the Nations Human Rights Council as part of the 53rd Session of the Unive...
05/15/2026

AFI recently submitted three contributions to the Nations Human Rights Council as part of the 53rd Session of the Universal Periodic Review, examining restrictions on artistic freedom in Hungary, Thailand, and the United States.

AFI is committed to tracking and documenting these developments and to ensuring that they are reflected in international review processes. Read the full submissions for a deeper analysis, and stay tuned for the November 2026 UPR session, where these issues will be reviewed.

✊ Protect Art. Protect Democracy.

📚 Read AFI’s UPR submissions: https://artisticfreedominitiative.org/global-policy-advocacy/advocacy-activity/

05/14/2026

✨ Live in Geneva - May 31

As part of Heritage & Exile, Ana Carla Maza unfolds a vibrant universe between Latin jazz, Cuban music, and classical influences.

A free, intense, and deeply expressive music, where cello and voice carry stories of exile, love, and resilience.

đź“… May 31 | 5:30 PM
📍 Conservatoire Populaire de Genève, Rue François d’Ivernois 7, 1206 Geneva
🎟️ Tickets: link in bio

···

✨ En concert à Genève le 31 mai

Dans le cadre de Heritage & Exile, Ana Carla Maza déploie un univers vibrant entre jazz latin, musiques cubaines et influences classiques.

Une musique libre, intense et habitée, où le violoncelle et la voix traversent l’exil, l’amour et la résilience.

đź“… 31 mai | 17h30
📍 Conservatoire Populaire de Genève, Rue François d’Ivernois 7, 1206 Genève
🎟️ Billetterie : lien en bio

🗣️🇪🇺 Excited to return as official partners of the Open Culture! International Conference in Bratislava on 19–20 May.Our...
05/12/2026

🗣️
🇪🇺 Excited to return as official partners of the Open Culture! International Conference in Bratislava on 19–20 May.

Our Co-Executive Director Sanjay Sethi will deliver a keynote and moderate a panel on the future of artistic freedom in Europe and the European Artistic Freedom Act (EAFA).

Looking forward to sharing the latest developments from the RESISTANCE NOW TOGETHER group and its contributions to the ongoing development of the EAFA.

We’re proud to share that AFI Cartoonist in-network, Pedro X. Molina, has been named a 2026 Herblock Prize finalist. ✨Hi...
05/07/2026

We’re proud to share that AFI Cartoonist in-network, Pedro X. Molina, has been named a 2026 Herblock Prize finalist. ✨

His work powerfully documents political repression while defending freedom of expression, earning international recognition. As Judge Steve Brodner noted, Pedro is “one of the most powerful voices in cartooning today.”

➡️ Follow Pxmolina to explore and support Pedro's work.

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