iiinova — where your digital self keeps evolving

Reposted by Sara Whyatt

European Court of Human Rights @echr.coe.int · 25/08/2026

⚖️ Grand Chamber judgment: Kavala v. Türkiye (no. 2) ➡️ The European Court of Human Rights holds that Türkiye must release Mr Kavala immediately and eliminate the consequences of his conviction 🔗 Press release: hudoc.echr.coe.int/app/conversi...

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The Art Newspaper @theartnewspaper.bsky.social · 06/08/2026

Artist Srishti Gupta, aged 28, was arrested in April after a protest by thousands of factory workers in the Indian city of Noida, who were demanding fairer wages and improved work conditions. www.theartnewspaper.com/2026/08/05/c...

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Eurasianet @eurasianet.bsky.social · 26/07/2026

At a recent media forum held in the Nagorno-Karabakh city of Shusha, Azerbaijani leader Ilham Aliyev described the country’s #Soviet past as a colonial experience.

eurasianet.org

Inventing “Soviet jazz capital”: State-sponsored myth of Baku jazz

Eurasianet commentary

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European Court of Human Rights @echr.coe.int · 29/07/2026

⚖️Forthcoming Grand Chamber ruling in Kavala v. Türkiye (no. 2) 📆25 August at 10 a.m. in the Human Rights Building, Strasbourg. ➡️The delivery will be broadcast live on the European Court’s YouTube channel. hudoc.echr.coe.int/app/conversi...

hudoc.echr.coe.int

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ARC – Artists at Risk Connection @atriskartists.bsky.social · 08/07/2026

🇨🇺🔴CU URGENT: Release Luis Manuel Otero Alcántara now! CIVIL RIGHTS DEFENDERS PEN International #FreeLuisManuel #ArtisticFreedom ow.ly/XVrm50ZlPPz

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Hyperallergic @hyperallergic.com · 11/06/2026

The School of the Art Institute of Chicago has placed the director of its graduate art therapy program, Savneet Talwar, on leave after she assigned students a case study analyzing a hypothetical client who was “deeply affected by the violence against Palestinian civilians.”

hyperallergic.com

SAIC Puts Professor on Leave After Palestine Reference

The Chicago school is investigating the director of its art therapy graduate program after she assigned a case study that touched on pro-Palestine activism.

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Sara Whyatt @sarawhyatt.bsky.social · 12/06/2026

War devastates more than lives and livelihoods. Cultural artefacts are also at risk. This painting, depicting the horrors of a conflict more than 170 years ago, reminds us that destroying cultural heritage is a loss for future as well as present generations. www.rferl.org/a/crimea-sev...

rferl.org

Iconic Artwork 'Virtually Destroyed' In Crimea Drone Strike

A massive panorama depicting a battle in the 1853-1856 Crimean War has been heavily damaged by what Russian-occupation authorities in Sevastopol say was a Ukrainian drone attack.

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PEN International @peninternational.bsky.social · 02/02/2026

#Myanmar: For 5 years, the military has attempted to silence a nation through terror, censorship, and brutality, yet it has failed to extinguish the voices of those resisting its rule. This anniversary must serve as a moment of renewed international resolve. www.pen-international.org/news/myanmar...

pen-international.org

Myanmar: Five years after the coup, expression remains under attack — PEN International | Promoting Literature & Defending Freedom of Expression Worldwide

“Last month, the Myanmar military attempted to legitimise its rule through a carefully orchestrated electoral process. This so-called election was nothing more than an effort to impose a veneer of leg...

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The Art Newspaper @theartnewspaper.bsky.social · 16/01/2026

Pavel Krisevich, a political performance artist from St Petersburg, has been forced out of Russia after being re-arrested multiple times, most recently in December, following his release from prison in January 2025. buff.ly/Bs90Ztu

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Freemuse @freemuse.bsky.social · 18/12/2025

18 December 2025, on the occasion of minorities day - Freemuse and its partners announce the launch of the fifth edition of the International Contest for Minority Artists (2026). The 2026 theme of the Contest is War and Reconciliation. www.freemuse.org/internationa...

freemuse.org

International Contest for Minority Artists 2026: War and Reconciliation - Freemuse

Geneva, 18 December 2025. On the occasion of minorities day – the anniversary of the adoption in 1992 of the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Persons Belonging to National or Ethnic, Religi...

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Sara Whyatt @sarawhyatt.bsky.social · 11/11/2025

www.theartnewspaper.com/2025/11/11/p... "This means that participants from Russia, who were already few in number, will now be afraid ... On the other hand, it is recognition that artists play an important role in the anti-war, anti-Kremlin movement.” Marat Guelman, founder of SlovoNovo

theartnewspaper.com

Performance artist and festival of culture added to Russian government's list of ‘foreign agents’

Pavel Krisevich and SlovoNovo festival were added to the list on 7 November

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Lyn Gardner @lyngardnertheatre.bsky.social · 03/11/2025

There’s cowardice at work with theatres eyeing each other to see who does and doesn’t host before they commit. But what message does that send about creative freedom when organisations act so timidly arguing what is said from a theatre’s stages has no connection to how that organisation operates?

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Freemuse @freemuse.bsky.social · 03/11/2025

The Day of the Dead on 2 November is a tradition observed across Latin America, honouring deceased loved ones and celebrating their lives. This year, Freemuse joins the celebration as an act of resistance and a testament to memory serving artistic freedom. www.freemuse.org/day-of-the-d...

freemuse.org

Day of the Dead: Artists Caught Between War and Cartels - Freemuse

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Hyperallergic @hyperallergic.com · 28/10/2025

The Bukhara Biennial is an illusion, an oasis in a desert of repression. Transforming unused caravanserais, madrasas, and one mosque into a maze of miniature galleries within the Uzbek city, there are moments when it is a beautiful, affecting, and wonderful mirage.

hyperallergic.com

The Bukhara Biennial Will Break Your Heart

The work in Uzbekistan’s first biennial shimmers with the promise of culture as a connective tissue, while the autocratic government that funded it lurks in the shadows.

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Sara Whyatt @sarawhyatt.bsky.social · 28/10/2025

"The biennial is one of the most colonial inventions in contemporary art...It was born of world’s fairs & national pavilions. We turned it inside out. The Gaza Biennale is completely diasporic & dispersed, a collective act of joint production.” Do visit! www.al-monitor.com/originals/20...

al-monitor.com

Gaza artists' unorthodox biennial finds a home in Istanbul

The Gaza Biennale — Istanbul Pavillion, themed “A Cloud in My Hand,” reflects Gaza artists’ quest for survival as well as their hopes for a postconflict homeland.

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IFEX @ifex.org · 14/10/2025

#Turkey 🇹🇷 @bianet-eng.bsky.social reports that prosecutors are seeking prison terms for members of the all-female music group 'Manifest'. They face charges of "obscene acts" and "indecent exposure" over dances performed during a recent concert in Istanbul. buff.ly/kuvLoHK

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Council of Europe @coe.int · 09/10/2025

Ahead of the European and World Day against the Death Penalty, the @coe.int and the #EU reaffirm their unequivocal opposition to the death penalty, in all cases and in all circumstances. Joint statement by @alain-berset.coe.int and @kajakallas.bsky.social ⬇️ www.coe.int/en/web/porta...

No to death penalty

European Union and Council of Europe

The Council of Europe and the EU will continue to counter narratives promoting the reintroduction of the death penalty, including in Europe, and foster an open and democratic debate towards its full abolition in all parts of the world.

Alain Berset
Secretary General of the Council of Europe

Kaja Kallas
EU High Representative

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Commissioner for Human Rights @commissionerhr.coe.int · 09/10/2025

Europe's civil society #HumanRightsDefenders are under threat: -Restrictive legislation -Crackdown on activists & harassment -Severe funding crisis @coe.int states & non-state funders should stand up for civil society, the lifeblood & pillar of democratic society. ⬇️ www.coe.int/en/web/commi...

coe.int

Alarming trends: the crisis facing civil society and human rights defenders in Europe

Strasbourg 09/10/2025

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Freemuse @freemuse.bsky.social · 09/10/2025

"[Musicians] demonstrate a new sincerity, a new honesty, that is a huge contrast against the awful cynicism of those in power.” An excellent piece on the Kremlin's unsuccessful attempts to suppress song. www.theatlantic.com/internationa...

theatlantic.com

Moscow Can’t Stop the Music

The Kremlin is trying to suppress songs that defy Putin’s rule. It isn’t working.

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Freemuse @freemuse.bsky.social · 29/09/2025

Read Emma Shapiro's article in Hyperallergic on the Freemuse report on artistic freedom, alongside Article 19's Global Expression report. hyperallergic.com/1043369/new-...

hyperallergic.com

New Reports Expose the Global Toll of Censorship

Two dossiers paint an urgent quantitative picture of the rapidly growing suppression of free expression and artistic freedom.

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Sara Whyatt @sarawhyatt.bsky.social · 26/09/2025

Big thanks to Emma Shapiro for her article in Hyperallergic on the recorded rise of attacks on freedom of expression and artistic freedom through the @freemuse.bsky.social and Article 19 reports. hyperallergic.com/1043369/new-...

hyperallergic.com

New Reports Expose the Global Toll of Censorship

Two dossiers paint an urgent quantitative picture of the rapidly growing suppression of free expression and artistic freedom.

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Reposted by Sara Whyatt

Freemuse @freemuse.bsky.social · 24/09/2025

Slovenian artist Maja Smrekar is suing right-wing Slovenian Democratic Party for misusing her performance art, K-9_topology: Hybrid Family, in a referendum campaign. She is defending artistic freedom and reflecting on increasing pressure for self-censorship. www.freemuse.org/maja-smrekar...

freemuse.org

Maja Smrekar: When politics and religion control women’s bodies, they control art - Freemuse

Slovenian artist Maja Smrekar is suing the right-wing Slovenian Democratic Party (SDS), for misusing her work – a performance in which she breastfed her puppy – during a referendum campaign on pension...

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Sara Whyatt @sarawhyatt.bsky.social · 11/09/2025

AICA urges Germany to protect artistic freedom while combating antisemitism, warning that current practices risk fostering de facto censorship & self-censorship in the cultural sector. 🔶 An important, well considered appraisal . Read more here: aicainternational.news/agora/2025/9...

aicainternational.news

AICA Statement on Freedom of Expression in the Arts in Germany after the Hamas Attacks of October 2023 — AICA International

Headline: AICA urges Germany to protect artistic freedom while combating antisemitism, warning that current practices risk fostering de facto censorship and self-censorship in the cultural sector. ...

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Sara Whyatt @sarawhyatt.bsky.social · 10/09/2025

The genocidal war, forced famine & closed borders are devastating Gaza & Palestine. Gazan artists are unable to travel, & their works cannot physically cross borders.Depo responds by hosting the Gaza Biennale featuring artists from Gaza, Palestine & beyond. www.depoistanbul.net/en/event/gaz...

depoistanbul.net

GAZA BIENNALE - THE ISTANBUL PAVILION: A Cloud in My Hand - Depo İstanbul

GAZA BIENNALE – THE ISTANBUL PAVILION features the work of over 50 artists from Gaza, Palestine, and beyond. The exhibition unfolds across three floors at Depo, Istanbul during the 18th International ...

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Sara Whyatt @sarawhyatt.bsky.social · 04/09/2025

A very deserving award to Osman Kavala in recognition of his steadfast support for cultural dialogue, human rights & the belief that the arts can bring people together across borders & differences. Shocking that Kavala has been imprisoned for almost 8 years. www.osmankavala.org/en/statement...

osmankavala.org

The Goethe Medal 2025 Award Ceremony and Osman Kavala’s Acceptance Speech

Osman Kavala Web Sitesi

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Reposted by Sara Whyatt

Bosla Arts @boslaarts.com · 03/09/2025

OPEN CALL: To the Kids Who Live - an online exhibition of work created in solidarity with Palestine. Curated by Bosla Arts’ artist-in-residence Rand Hamdallah! Deadline 30 September 2025 🎨 Learn more & apply: www.boslaarts.com/blog/open-ca...

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Freemuse @freemuse.bsky.social · 01/09/2025

The International Association of Art Critics (AICA International) expresses deep concern and protests the recent conviction of cultural manager Sebastián Coronel, head of the independent space La Chispa in Asunción, Paraguay. Read the statement here: aicainternational.news/agora/2025/8...

aicainternational.news

Statement Against the Conviction of Sebastian Coronel, Head of the independent space La Chispa in Asunción — AICA International

The International Association of Art Critics (AICA International), wishes to express its deep concern and protest at the recent conviction of cultural manager Sebastián Coronel, head of the independen...

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The Art Newspaper @theartnewspaper.bsky.social · 26/08/2025

More than 150 US cultural organisations, joined by hundreds of artists, have pledged to resist political pressure on programming and to stand with institutions facing government scrutiny. buff.ly/LRhP308

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Hyperallergic @hyperallergic.com · 26/08/2025

Over a year after Vail, Colorado, cancelled an artist residency over a pro-Palestine artwork, Indigenous painter Danielle SeeWalker has settled a civil rights lawsuit brought by the ACLU.

hyperallergic.com

Colorado Town Settles With Native Artist Who Brought Free Speech Lawsuit

The town of Vail canceled Danielle SeeWalker’s residency last year after she shared an unrelated painting in support of Palestine on her Instagram.

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Freemuse @freemuse.bsky.social · 27/08/2025

One year ago, Chinese artist and U.S. resident Gao Zhen was detained in Hebei, China. He remains in prison without trial, his health failing, his family silenced. Freemuse joins sixteen other rights organisations to demand his immediate release. See the joint statement here: hrf.org/latest/joint...

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Sara Whyatt @sarawhyatt.bsky.social · 13/08/2025

Delighted that I shall be there wearing two hats: 1 - for the presentation of the @freemuse.bsky.social 'Ideas-Deliberative Democracy' session 'Building Bridges - Defending Artistic Freedom & 2 - for the @coe.int Free to Create Project under the 'Time for Creativity' sessions.

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Index on Censorship @indexoncensorship.org · 22/07/2025

Today marks the one-year anniversary of the unlawful arrest & “pre-trial detention” of Egyptian cartoonist Ashraf Omar. Alongside our colleagues @cartoonistsrights.org @cartooningforpeace.bsky.social, we once again take the opportunity to call for his immediate & unconditional release.

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Freemuse @freemuse.bsky.social · 22/07/2025

Egyptian cartoonist Ashraf Omar has spent a year in pre-trial detention after being arrested, beaten, and interrogated over his work. Freemuse joins 23 press and human rights organisations in calling for his immediate release. Full statement: cartoonistsrights.org/ashraf-omar-...

cartoonistsrights.org

Demand to free cartoonist Ashraf Omar, one year on

On the first anniversary of his arrest in Cairo, international cartoonists' & free expression organisations call for the release & acquittal of Ashraf Omar.

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Freemuse @freemuse.bsky.social · 22/07/2025

Agradecemos a nuestros colegas de Cartel Urbano por la traducción al español del Resumen Ejecutivo y del capítulo sobre América Latina del informe sobre el Estado de la Libertad Artística en el Mundo (SAF 2025). Léelo aquí: www.freemuse.org/freemuses-20...

freemuse.org

Freemuse’s 2025 Report: Latin America section and overview now in Spanish - Freemuse

Freemuse’s partner, Cartel Urbano, has published a Spanish translation of our annual State of Artistic Freedom 2025 overview, along with the Latin American section titled Creating and Resisting Under ...

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Hyperallergic @hyperallergic.com · 21/07/2025

As Trump expands his travel ban list and shutters dozens of US embassies and consulates abroad, scores of future applicants may be indefinitely barred from participating in US-based residencies that could be pivotal for their career and creative growth.

hyperallergic.com

Visa Denials Create Hurdles for Artist Residencies

Artists slated to participate in the Art Omi program in Upstate New York must stay back due to closed embassies or denied documents, an ongoing challenge expected to worsen under Trump.

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Freemuse @freemuse.bsky.social · 16/07/2025

China has detained performance artist 'Nut Brother' known for turning Beijing smog into a brick, after his pollution probe in Shaanxi. He’s been incommunicado since June 30, reports Oiwan Lam. His collaborator Zheng Hongbin was also taken. Read the article here: globalvoices.org/2025/07/11/w...

globalvoices.org

What does the disappearance of ‘Nut Brother’ reveal about the plight of performance artists in China?

"Nut Brother" is one of the most successful artist-activists in navigating China's the authoritarian political system. But his luck may have finally run out.

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Hyperallergic @hyperallergic.com · 15/07/2025

Adam Zyglis’s cartoon about the Texas floods drew such intense public backlash, including alleged death threats, that the Buffalo History Museum postponed an event spotlighting the Pulitzer Prize winner’s work.

hyperallergic.com

Buffalo Museum Cancels Event After Backlash Against Texas Flood Cartoon

Award-winning cartoonist Adam Zyglis received death threats for his criticism of the government's reaction to the disaster.

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Freemuse @freemuse.bsky.social · 15/07/2025

Cartoonist Zehra Ömeroğlu acquitted after a 5-year obscenity trial. In conversation with Freemuse’s Özlem Altunok, Ömeroğlu discusses censorship, political humour, and the pressures faced by women artists in Türkiye. Read her full interview here: www.freemuse.org/cartoonist-z...

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Freemuse @freemuse.bsky.social · 10/07/2025

Chinese artist Gao Zhen has been detained nearly a year in China for satirical art of Mao Zedong made 15 years ago. Arrested in August 2024, he refuses to plead guilty. His trial is expected in about a month. Freemuse demands his immediate release. Read more: hyperallergic.com/1026680/gao-...

hyperallergic.com

Gao Zhen, Chinese Artist Detained for "Defaming" Mao, Looks Ahead to Trial

A leading human rights lawyer will represent the artist, who faces China’s infamously repressive anti-defamation laws over artworks he created 15 years ago.

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Freemuse @freemuse.bsky.social · 03/07/2025

Artists, activists, and professionals gathered in Nairobi to follow Kenya’s fourth cycle review of its human rights record in Geneva on 1 May 2025. The meeting aimed to educate about the Universal Periodic Review Mechanism and its connection to artistic freedom. www.freemuse.org/kenyan-creat...

freemuse.org

Kenyan creatives rally around UN Review amid mounting threats to artistic freedom - Freemuse

Kenya’s artistic freedom faces significant threats, including censorship, suppression of dissent, and the targeting of LGBTI expressions, a situation that has become more critical with the current unr...

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Freemuse @freemuse.bsky.social · 03/07/2025

Mexican authorities plan to ban some corrido subgenres for glorifying crime, but experts see corridos as responses to injustice, and a ban might boost their popularity, significance, and this threatens artistic freedom. Read the article by Diana Arévalo here: www.freemuse.org/mexico-what-...

freemuse.org

Mexico: What is so forbidden about corridos? The war on corridos and free expression - Freemuse

Authorities across Mexico have moved to ban narcocorridos, corridos tumbados and corridos bélicos all sub-genres of the popular Mexican genre know as corridos, in public spaces and heavy fines, arguin...

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The Art Newspaper @theartnewspaper.bsky.social · 01/07/2025

Two artists killed in Israeli air strike on Gaza cafe Amna Al-Salmi, a visual artist, and Ismail Abu Hatab, a prominent photographer and filmmaker, were among at least 30 killed at the popular seaside spot buff.ly/f5FO5KQ

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Sara Whyatt @sarawhyatt.bsky.social · 30/06/2025

Curators & directors of cultural sites in war zones are unsung heroes, preserving heritage often at great risk midst looting, violence & environmental damage. Read here about the courage of those in #Sudan www.theartnewspaper.com/2025/06/30/c...

theartnewspaper.com

Culture workers feel the pain of Sudan’s endless civil war

Antiquities directors and curators share their personal stories of the chaos and looting that have devastated their lives and the country’s cultural heritage

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Hyperallergic @hyperallergic.com · 28/05/2025

"One of the most perplexing things about this whole situation is that the school board has been unable to actually name what, exactly, is offensive or discomfiting about the print." —Artist Liora Ostroff, whose poster was removed from a school classroom

hyperallergic.com

High School Teacher Reprimanded for Showing Jewish Dissent Poster

Evanston teacher Andrew Ginsberg, who is Jewish, was asked to take down a print referencing anti-war Rabbi Abraham Joshua Heschel’s 1971 essay.

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