The Artistic Freedom Monitor (AFM) is a first-of-its-kind tracking and accountability platform created by Artistic Freedom Initiative to document government actions that threaten artistic freedom and the independence of cultural institutions in the United States. Led by Artistic Freedom Initiative, the AFM is developed in partnership with Democracy Forward, Human Rights First, and the Pro Bono Programs at Stanford Law School and UC Berkeley School of Law.
The AFM 2025 Fact Sheet provides a snapshot of key findings from the Monitor’s first year of documentation. In 2025, the Monitor found that federal and state governments employed executive actions, laws, and policies that restricted artistic freedom across four distinct categories: (1) politicized funding; (2) censorship and content-based restrictions; (3) interference in governance and administrative control of arts institutions; and (4) immigration and mobility restrictions for artists. Together, these measures illustrate how government action in 2025 increasingly shaped the conditions under which art is created, funded, presented, and accessed across the United States.
Click below to read the AFM 2025 Fact Sheet, and explore the AFM tracker today.
