Afghan Artists Protection Project
The Afghan Artists Protection Project (AAPP) is a holistic legal and resettlement initiative developed in response to the crisis in Afghanistan. The project will safely resettle 18 Afghan artists and their families in the United States, and enable them to preserve their livelihoods as artists.
Since the U.S. announced its intention to withdraw troops from Afghanistan in August 2021, AFI has received over 2,300 individual requests for legal assistance from Afghan artists. This is unprecedented throughout AFI’s history. AFI developed AAPP to provide direct assistance to Afghan artists whose lives and livelihoods are currently at risk under the Taliban.
Through AAPP, Artistic Freedom Initiative will directly support 18 at-risk Afghan artists and their families by providing:
- pro bono immigration representation
- relocation assistance
- temporary housing
- resettlement funds
- employment and fellowship opportunities, and
- ongoing support post-relocation
We can’t do this work alone! To download a list of individual and organizational partnership opportunities, click here.
AAPP is supported by generous funding from the Mellon Foundation and the SDK Foundation for Human Dignity. To read the full AAPP press release, click here.
Photo credits: Michael Wilson, Nosrat Tarighi.