Freemuse

Sub-Saharan Africa Region: Show Respect! "Be decent. Don’t criticise. Don’t protest." By Lisa Sidambe Key findings from our State of Artistic Freedom 2025 Report: - The enforcement of laws criminalising insult suppressed free expression critical of public officials. - Musician…

On 26 June 2025, Turkish cartoonist Zehra Ömeroğlu faces her 14th hearing in Istanbul, accused of “obscenity” for her piece “Sex in the Pandemic” and risking up to three years in prison. Four years into this ordeal, the trial itself has become a punishment. Cartoonists like Zehra…

I had an opportunity of observing the Kenya Universal Periodic Review by the UN General Assembly at @MageuziHub yesterday courtesy of @panaf_org. #UPRKenya #ArtisticFreedom #PANAFVoices #FreedomOfExpression #Dorphanage

Freemuse’s State of Artistic Freedom 2025 report is out. Across the globe, artists are being silenced, through arrest, threats, and censorship. Even in democracies, self-censorship is rising. The report reveals an alarming trend in political repression and moral policing in 2024.…

The Norwegian town of Kristiansand, near Oslo, hosts a “European Conference” every year around Europe Day in May. The event aims to emphasise the importance of continuously defending democracy and human rights, by showcasing how these rights impact citizens’ daily lives on a…

Monday Muse: What does Artistic Freedom mean to you? Share your truth in the comments Click the link to watch more youtu.be/a2W68QscqXI #UnchainedVibesAfrica #CreativeResistance #UnchainedVoices #PowerOfArt #SpeakThroughArt

freemuse.org/whos-with-the-… At times censorship can backfire, creating public support for the musicians and turning them into symbols of resistance, but this can come at personal cost. ✳️ In February the Indonesian punk band, Sukanti was ordered to remove its song from the internet…

📣 𝙍𝙚𝙡𝙚𝙖𝙨𝙚 𝙎𝙖𝙮𝙚𝙙 𝙍𝙖𝙝𝙞𝙢 𝙎𝙖𝙞𝙙𝙞 𝙉𝙤𝙬! Freemuse joins the ICFR in their call for the immediate and unconditional release of Afghan filmmaker 𝐒𝐚𝐲𝐞𝐝 𝐑𝐚𝐡𝐢𝐦 𝐒𝐚𝐢𝐝𝐢, sentenced to three years in Taliban prison just last December. Ever since his arrest…

For creators tackling politically charged, socially taboo, or religiously sensitive topics in Egypt, the cost is often persecution—or worse. Women and LGBTQ+ individuals face heightened legal and societal backlash. This week Freemuse is celebrating the courage and determination…

In May 2024, the song, Glory to Hong Kong, which became the unofficial anthem for Hong Kong protestors, was banned. Composed at the height of protests calling for democratic reform and against police brutality – from mid-2019 up to the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic in early…

Cumbia singers and groups and those of its sub-genre chicha in Peru, face increasing violence and insecurity as criminal groups in the country expand their influence. In 2024, the situation deteriorated significantly, and artists of these popular music genres were victims of…

On 21 May 2024, the Government of Lesotho made a shocking announcement. The airplay and circulation of Famo folk music was banned on radio and television. This followed the police minister’s criminalisation of twelve Famo music groups, their attire and songs, a result of the…

3rd March marks World Music Freedom Day. Over the next five days, Freemuse will be celebrating the courage and determination of musicians around the world who face repression in the practice of their rights to freedom of expression and to participate in their cultural rights. We…

ear Friends and Colleagues, There are only 10 days to go before the deadline for our international minority art contest. This year’s theme is Belonging, Place and Loss. Please share far and wide! freemuse.org/international-… --- We are also looking for places interested in hosting…

Russian musician and songwriter Vadim Stroykin—a vocal critic of the war—tragically died on 5 February after falling from his apartment window during a police raid. His death follows a chilling pattern of repression against artists and dissenters in Russia. Freemuse demands a…

Always keen to carry good news of sorts "In a rare public intervention, #Bosnia’s Grand Mufti has urged tolerance of diversity after a Sarajevo imam insulted queer sevdalinka singer Bozo Vreco, reigniting debate over personal freedom & cultural tradition" balkaninsight.com/2025/02/11/ima…

Activist, journalist and writer Parvin Ardalan has long fought for women's rights in Iran—at great personal cost. Now in exile, she speaks to Freemuse about the role of artists in resistance, the Woman, Life, Freedom movement, and the ongoing fight for artistic freedom.…

Egypt's artists face severe repression through censorship, restrictive laws, and extra-legal tactics. Egypt’s crackdown on artistic freedom, exemplified by cases such as Galal El-Behairy and Ashraf Omar, reveals the harsh reality for creators challenging authority. As Egypt’s…

Iran will come before the United Nations Human Rights Council in Geneva for its Universal Periodic Review (UPR) this week, on 24 January, a critical moment for assessing the country’s human rights record. In Iran, artistic expression has become an extraordinary act of defiance.…