Apply for Assistance
Artistic Freedom Initiative is currently accepting applications from at-risk artists in the United States and around the world seeking temporary and permanent residence in the US. Additionally, for at-risk artists already located in the United States, AFI is accepting applications from artists who fear persecution in their home countries and are seeking asylum in the US.
Who Can Apply?
Artists who are threatened or persecuted for expressing their opinions, ideas or identities through their art.
Artists who are being censored by the government or other authorities in their home countries.
Artists who are experiencing humanitarian disaster or armed conflict in their home countries.
Who Are Considered Artists?
AFI construes the term “artist” broadly. This includes, but is not limited to:
- Actors
- Creative journalists and photojournalists
- Cultural workers (including curators, art scholars, archivists, and conservators); and Publishers or presenters of art
- Filmmakers
- Musicians and Composers
- Performance artists
- Theater artists
- Visual artists (including painters, sculptors, photographers, graphic designers, cartoonists, and new media artists)
- Writers (including fiction, poetry, creative nonfiction, playwrights, and screenwriters)
What Is Required?
1. Artistic production
At-risk artists must be able to demonstrate a record of artistic production or performance.
2. Persecution and Censorship
Applicants must demonstrate that they are either:
- At risk of persecution as a direct consequence of their art – this can be shown through a past history of physical harm, fear of future physical harm, incarceration, or prosecution;
- Unable to express themselves freely through their art due to censorship by the government.
Apply For ASSISTANCE
If you are an at-risk artist in need of assistance, please read the above Application Guide for Artists to determine whether you qualify for assistance from Artistic Freedom Initiative.
To apply, at-risk artists are required to complete our application form. AFI makes an overall assessment of each applicant’s needs. To enable us to assess your application properly, please provide all the information and documentation requested in the application form. All information will be treated confidentially. You will be contacted and informed of the result of the assessment as soon as the application has been processed.
Please submit your application using the online form linked below.