Campaigns
AFI’s advocacy campaigns include the development of actionable policy recommendations issued to national governments, international bodies, and other relevant stakeholders that have the power to improve conditions for artists in their home countries and/or provide support to artists at risk.
Universal Periodic Review (UPR) Submissions
"Joint Submission by Artistic Freedom Initiative & Voice Unbound to the Fourth Cycle of the Universal Periodic Review of the Islamic Republic of Iran." Human Rights Council Period Review 48th Session.
"Artistic Freedom Initiative's Submission to the Fourth Cycle of the Universal Period Review of Nicaragua." Human Rights Council Periodic Review 47th Session.
Op-Eds and Articles
"Yes, Donald Trump could destroy the Kennedy Center. Or worse." by Philip Kennicott. The Washington Post, February 14, 2025.
"Afghanistan's Art Scene Weighs in On Taliban Move to Ban Images of Living Things" by Tamara Davison. Observer, January 21, 2025.
"The regime banishes Nieves Martínez, Dagoberto Fuentes Palacios and Juan Pablos Rosales" Despacho 505, November 14, 2024.
"It's time Iran's artists be considered as human rights defenders" by Sanjay Sethi and Johanna Bankston. Atlantic Council, October 2, 2024.
"Report Details Persistant Persecution of Iranian Artists" by Anna Lentchner. ArtAsiaPacific, September 13, 2024.
"Iranian artists need protection from state threats- Report." Iran International, September 11, 2024.
"Legal Advocacy Groups Call for Iran to End Campaign Targeting Dissident Artists" by Angelica Villa. ARTnews, September 10, 2024.
"Human rights groups call on Iran's government to end 'systemic persecution of artists'" by Gareth Harris. The Art Newspaper, September 10, 2024.
"Women, Life, Freedom: On the Iranian Artists Resisting the Regime." Lazo Magazine. September 9, 2024.
"Repairing the arts in Poland after eight years of PiS" by Johanna Bankston and Sanjay Sethi. Euobserver, December 18, 2023.
"Artistic Exodus: Afghan Artists Fleeing Taliban Rule." Relief Web, November 14, 2023.
"Afghan Artists and Cultural Heritage in Extreme Danger: The World is Failing Afghanistan on Two Critical Fronts." World Art News, November 13, 2023.
"Afghanistan's artists and cultural heritage on the brink of obliteration" by Johanna Bankston and Sanjay Sethi. Euronews, January 12, 2023.
"Creativity Against All Odds: Censorship and Suppression of the Arts in Poland" by Noor van Asseldonk Chen and Tijana Stepanovic. Dutch Culture, December 1, 2022.
"Poland's ruling party's attempts to censor LGBTQ+ artists" by Johanna Bankston. EU Observer, November 2, 2022.
"The Arts and Cultural Sector is One of the Bulwarks Against Illiberalism" by Thorsten Schröder. Béton Bleu Magazine, October 11, 2022.
"Self-Censorship Among Artists and Museum Workers Is on the Rise in Poland, a New Report Finds" by Vivienne Chow. ArtNet News, October 11, 2022.
"Reckoning With Memories of Budapest" by Stephen Hiltner. New York Times, August 15, 2022.
"Are Orban's Covid powers now the 'new normal' in Hungary" by Sanjay Sethi and Eseme Pásztor. EU Observer, May 23, 2022.
"Orbán has hurt Hungarian culture, not just politics" by Elizabeth Grady and Johanna Bankson. EU Observer, April 1, 2022.
"A New Report Says Victor Orbán’s Government in Hungary Is ‘Systematically’ Curtailing Freedom of Expression" by Vivienne Chow. ArtNet News, March 22, 2022.
"Orbán has hurt Hungarian culture, not just politics" by Elizabeth Grady and Johanna Bankson. EU Observer, April 1, 2022.