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Our Impact

Artistic Freedom Initiative works at the intersection of protection, practice, policy, and public engagement to safeguard artistic freedom worldwide.

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Our Impact

Advancing artistic freedom through action.

AFI takes a holistic approach to supporting artists whose freedom of expression has been threatened by censorship, persecution, or displacement. Through legal protection, resettlement support, public programs, and policy advocacy, we help artists find safety, rebuild stability, and sustain their creative practice.

While much of this impact is deeply personal and difficult to quantify, the numbers reflect its scale: artists supported, pathways created, and ripple effects that advance progressive social change and strengthen artistic freedom as a fundamental human right.

$6.5M

Provided $6.5 million in direct pro bono assistance across our programs since inception.

4,400+

Supported 4,400 at-risk artists and their dependent family members since AFI’s founding.

60+

Artists in AFI’s network come from 60+ countries around the world.

40+

AFI artists work across 40+ creative disciplines.

280+ Months

Provided 280+ months of fully funded residency placements for artists at risk.

$800K

Partnered with 10 universities and arts institutions to co-create 15 fellowships for at-risk artists, providing over $800k in stipend support.

50+

Produced 50+ multidisciplinary arts festivals, concerts, exhibitions, and events showcasing at-risk artists’ work.

6

Published 6 reports on threats to freedom of expression around the world.

7

Filed 7 submissions to the Universal Periodic Review at the United Nations.

175+

Built a global network of 175+ partners who are committed to championing artistic freedom.

A holistic approach to protecting, promoting, and fostering artistic freedom.

  • AFI successfully files merit-based O and EB-1 visas, performance-based P visas, applications for permanent residence, naturalization, work authorization, and petitions for asylum.
  • We build coalition- and artist-led residencies and incubators that empower at-risk artists to develop their careers, produce new work, build community, and provide peer-to-peer mentorship.
  • AFI co-creates paid fellowships for at-risk artists with prestigious institutions such as The New School, The Metropolitan Museum of Art, The Juilliard School, The Smithsonian, Stanford, Berkeley, and New York Film Academy.
  • We curate and produce arts festivals, concerts, exhibitions and events that platform and promote the works of hundreds of AFI artists to audiences worldwide.
  • AFI leads policy and strategic litigation efforts to advance artistic freedom globally, contributing to UN resolutions, joint statements, domestic and regional legislation, Universal Periodic Review (UPR) processes, and other key instruments.
  • ​​AFI successfully negotiated language on artistic freedom and protection of cultural workers in 6 country resolutions at the UN Human Rights Council, and co-drafted the Bratislava Declaration calling for EU legal safeguards for artistic freedom.
  • AFI has been invited to share expertise on artistic freedom at international arts and human rights conferences worldwide.
  • Our work has been featured in The New York Times, Washington Post, NPR, New York Magazine, Gagosian, The Art Newspaper, and Euronews.

Artists Speak Out

 

 

 

 

 

 

Support AFI’s Work

As censorship rises and artists are targeted for speaking truth to power, protecting creative voices has never been more urgent. Since 2017, AFI has supported over 2,000 courageous artists who continue making art even when it places them at risk. Your contribution ensures artists can keep creating, sharing, and inspiring change—protecting both their voices and the right to artistic freedom worldwide.