Event on freeDimensional

"Writing Exile" event - Tuesday, September 16 - 7PM

Fri, 12 Sep 2014 00:00:00 +0000

Words without Borders, in collaboration with freeDimensional and Verso Books, present a reading from WWB’s September issue, dedicated to writing exile. The reading aims to draw attention to the voices of writers forced from their homes, and will feature contributors and other special guests reading selections from the issue. To accompany the reading, freeDimensional will present an exhibition of work from contemporary visual artists who use creativity to fight injustice, and have experienced persecution and forced displacement as a result of their artistic practice.

Press Release: Central America Forum on Art, Culture & Human Rights

Thu, 12 Jun 2014 00:00:00 +0000

The Central America Regional Forum on Arts, Culture and Human Rights takes place June 18-20 - Tegucigalpa, Honduras

freeDimensional (www.freedimensional.org), Colectivo Hormiga (http://colectivohormiga.com) HIVOS (www.hivos.nl) are pleased to announce the launch of the Central American Regional Forum on Arts, Culture and Human Rights, June 18-20 in Tegucigalpa, Honduras.

The Forum is the first-ever three-day participatory forum aiming to support, unite and inspire the arts & culture and human rights sectors in Central America to collaborate, uphold freedom of expression as a basic human right and acknowledge artists and culture workers as primary defenders of it. Approximately 50 Central American cultural and human rights organizations will participate.

Show on African homosexuality shut down after fundamentalist attack

Mon, 09 Jun 2014 00:00:00 +0000

Senegal exhibition, part of the Dak’Art Biennale, closed due to pressure from extremist Islamic groups.

By: Anny Shaw

The Senegalese government has shut down one of the first exhibitions in Africa to focus on homosexuality on the continent. The move comes several weeks after an attack on the Dakar gallery by Muslim fundamentalists, says the French-Algerian artist Kader Attia. “Precarious Imaging: Visibility and Media Surrounding African Queerness” opened at Raw Material Company on 11 May, but a day later, the non-profit art centre was vandalised and the building damaged, according to Attia, whose video about the lives of transsexuals in Algiers and Mumbai was included in the show. No one was hurt in the attack.

Ai Weiwei on Tiananmen Square

Thu, 05 Jun 2014 00:00:00 +0000

China Loses by Forgetting about Tiananmen Square

by: Ai Weiwei

In the last month, in two separate cities, I was involved in events related to the rewriting of the history of Chinese contemporary art. In Shanghai, two of my works, “Stool” and “Sunflower Seeds,” were included in an exhibition commemorating the 15th year of the Chinese Contemporary Art Award. A half-hour before the show opened, local officials had my name erased from the exhibition’s wall text and barred the artworks from being displayed.

Learning from Experience

Fri, 09 May 2014 00:00:00 +0000

By: Arahmaiani

In 1993, I was confronted by an improbable and inextricable problem. A group of people claiming to be pious Muslims “secured” 2 of my works (an installation and a painting) part of a solo exhibition titled “Sex, Religion & Coca -Cola”. They were adamant that I had committed blasphemy against Islam, because in my installation a copy of the Koran was presented next to a pack of condoms. While in the painting there were Arabic letters adjacent to the Lingga-Yoni, which was a picture of a phallus and a vagina. Their interpretation of the visualization or these works was so negative that they were compelled to without any hesitation, “secure” the works.

How I got back the energy and confidence to keep doing...

Tue, 06 May 2014 00:00:00 +0000

By: Chaw Ei Thein

In 2006, I came to New York for a yearlong artist residency program and during that time, I was warned that my safety could not be assured if I were to return to Burma. The reason I could not return was my artwork, interviews I had given with the international media and newspaper articles about my work as it related to a critique of the political situation in Burma at that time. Unable to return home, I was facing very difficult time settling in to life in New York; I was totally frustrated and very worried about how to live, find a way to survive and uncertain as to whether I could continue my career as an artist in this new place with its new challenges.

U Win Tin, Writer Jailed by Myanmar Junta, Dies

Tue, 22 Apr 2014 00:00:00 +0000

U Win Tin, a journalist, author and poet who became a leading opponent of the military rulers of Myanmar, where he was imprisoned and tortured for 19 years, died on Monday in Yangon, formerly Rangoon. Sources differ on whether he was 84 or 85.

The political party he helped found, the National League for Democracy, announced the death. Reports in the local news media said his kidneys and other organs had failed.

New Generation Palestinian Artists at Whitebox Arts Center, NY, Opens 3 April

Wed, 02 Apr 2014 00:00:00 +0000

A New Generation of Palestinian Artists Converges in New York

How Green Was My Valley opens April 3 at Whitebox Art Center and runs through April 27, 2014.

In 2005, ArtPalestine Internation al was formed to promote Palestinian artists in the US, offering them a visible, public platform through exhibitions and programming. As a dispersed and dislocated population, Palestinians navigate myriad challenges, whether it’s deep restrictions on mobility and uncertainty about statehood in the West Bank and Gaza or finding cultural identity in the diaspora.

Salvadorian performance artist faces prison for eating his ballot card : petition launched in his defence

Fri, 28 Mar 2014 00:00:00 +0000

https://secure.avaaz.org/en/petition/El_Salvador_Legal_Authorities_Keep_Victor_Rodriguez_out_of_jail/?fbss

Víctor “Crack” Rodríguez is facing up to six years in prison for a performance piece. After the general election in El Salvador that split the winning left party from the right by a margin of less than 1% percent, tensions in the country are high, especially amongst the nation’s community of artists, who are rallying to defend Rodríguez, one of San Salvador’s celebrated contemporary artists.

On March 9th, 2014 Rodriguez walked in to a ballot station and announced, “this is an artist action,” then proceeded to eat half of his ballot in front of polling station onlookers before casting the remaining half. A video of the artist’s performance went viral. But the situation quickly turned ugly as the Salvadoran legal system reacted, accusing the artist of electoral fraud — a criminal offence punishable by up to six years in prison.

Play on violence to women in India will finally be performed in India

Mon, 17 Mar 2014 00:00:00 +0000

On the night of December 16th 2012 a young woman and her male friend boarded a bus in urban Delhi heading for home. What followed, changed the lives of these two people and countless others forever. Internationally acclaimed playwright and director Yael Farber has created a searing new work that cracks open the cone of silence around women whose lives have been shattered by gender-based violence.

Nirbhaya (Breaking the Silence) will be performed in Mumbai, New Delhi and Bangalore India from March 17th to 28th, following its 2013 premier at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival where it won the Amnesty International Freedom of Expression Award given to an outstanding Fringe production which raises awareness of human rights, the Scotsman Fringe First and the Herald Angel Award for Outstanding New Play.

Kumbia Queers @ Queens Museum - March 6, 6-8PM

Thu, 27 Feb 2014 00:00:00 +0000

Queens Museum - Open A.I.R. & fD present Kumbia Queers with Que Bajo: Redefining Cumbia, Love and Latinamericanidad

Mar 6 2014, 6:00pm – 8:00pm

An open conversation with the members of Kumbia Queers and Que Bajo regarding cumbia, gender and love in Latin America. Followed by an acoustic set by the Kumbia Queers.

Guests: Kumbia Queers (Argentina-Mexico), Gecko Jones (NYC-Colombia-Puerto Rico), and Uproot Andy (NYC-Canada)

Moderated by: Santo Padre (Mexico-NYC)

Shahid Nadeem's THE ACQUITTAL reading - Friday, February 22

Thu, 20 Feb 2014 00:00:00 +0000

Castillo Theatre presents a play reading of:

The Acquittal by Shahid Nadeem // reading directed by Dan Friedman

Saturday, February 22 at 5:00pm // Admission is free. Reservation required. To make your reservation call 212-941-1234 or email boxoffice@allstars.org

The Castillo Theatre invites you to a reading of The Acquittal by the award-winning playwright, Shahid Nadeem, (translated from Urdu by Tahira Naqvi). The reading is being directed by Castillo’s artistic director Dan Friedman and will be held on Saturday, February 22 at 5:00 p.m.

Theatrum Mundi launches “Designing for Free Speech” challenge

Tue, 11 Feb 2014 00:00:00 +0000

Theatrum Mundi, in partnership with the American Institute of Architects, New York, has launched a “Designing for Free Speech” challenge. The challenge asks architects, designers, activists, artists — and anyone interested in imagining new spaces in the city for free expression — to identify public spaces in New York City and propose re-designs that transform them into places that activate the rights enshrined in the First Amendment.

Applicants will propose architectural or performative designs (temporary or permanent) that transform spaces in New York City into places for public “demonstration.” This challenge is about re-imagining and idealizing existing spaces that have the potential for animating the public, especially spaces that are not traditionally considered in this frame. Submissions will be accepted through March 31, 2014.

'Public Secrets' - Performance & Screening - Saturday, January 11 6-9PM

Tue, 07 Jan 2014 00:00:00 +0000

‘Public Secrets’: Arts, Culture and Contemporary Indonesian Politics after the Fall of Suharto

Location: Project Reach NYC. 39 Eldridge Street, 4FL. New York NY, 10002

Performance by Arahmaiani /Screening of Erika Baglyas’s film Honestly featuring CM Rien Kuntari

Conversation with Arahmaiani & CM Rien Kuntari

1998, in the wake of the Asian financial crisis and the resignation of General Suharto after 32 years in power, was a tumultuous year for Indonesia. Promises of long-overdue democratic reform were quickly overshadowed by persistent political and economic instability, rampant corruption, civil unrest and terrorism. Performance artist Arahmaiani and war journalist Cordula Maria Rien Kuntari were witness to this important historical moment and its aftermath, both as insiders and outsiders. In addition to a shared national identity, both women share the common experience of being forced to leave their countries of origin as a result of their professional practice as it served to interrogate abuses of power and the hypocrisy of politics in their country.

Art and Activism on the World Stage @ Adelphi University

Mon, 02 Dec 2013 00:00:00 +0000

The Levermore Global Scholars Program is partnering with freeDimensional to bring guest speaker Ademola Bello, an international artist, to campus.

Thursday, December 5, 2:00–3:00 p.m

Location: Campbell Lounge, Room 1

About the Artist:

Ademola Bello is a Nigerian playwright, journalist, and novelist who has used his plays and dramatic writing to give a voice to oppressed communities and speak truth to power around the world. He will share his international journey, experiences, and struggles to use the arts as a tool for social change.

Mexico City Consultation on Free Expression and Cultural Rights - November 13 & 14

Wed, 13 Nov 2013 00:00:00 +0000

On November 13 & 14, fD in partnership with El Centro Cultural de Espana in Mexico is hosting a two day consultation meeting on free expression and cultural rights in Mexico and Central America. 45 representatives from the arts, culture and human rights sectors will attend the consultation to exchange experiences, issues and problems, and mechanisms of support as they relate to different forms of creative activism.

What: 2-day consultation / workshop with artists, culture workers and activists from Mexico and Central America

Projects We Like: SITUATIONAL JUNTA @ Bowery Poetry Club - October 21, 2013

Sun, 20 Oct 2013 00:00:00 +0000

Emcee: Negin Farsad Main Dish: Alex White Mazzarella & Artefacting With: Caron Atlas, Stephanie Gooel, Brian Halloran, Niki Singleton, Lawman Lynch, Chloe Bass, Dave Ruder, Abigail Levine and Wen-shaun Yang

Location: Bowery Poetry Time: 6-8pm $10

{Each evening begins with a happy hour from 6pm to 7pm, and a live radio broadcast from 7-8pm.}

ABOUT THE SERIES

Dates: Mondays, Oct 21, Nov 18, Dec 16

The United States Department of Arts and Culture (USDAC) and the Associação Espaço Cultural Lanchonete (aka Lanchonete) are taking over Bowery Poetry for a series of evening encounters and exchanges, one part happy hour and the other part radio talk show… shaken, stirred, and served straight up on the airwaves! For three evenings this Fall, Situational Junta poses a simple question: If artists are empowered to innovate on a large enough scale to interrupt the status quo, what would that look like?

Presentation: The Right to Freedom of Artistic Expression & Creation

Tue, 01 Oct 2013 00:00:00 +0000

Arts/Rights/Justice Working Group presents UN Special Rapporteur on Cultural Rights Report on The Right to Freedom of Artistic Expression & Creation - October 2 - Brussels

The presentation of the UN Report, “The Right to Freedom of Artistic Expression and Creation” at the European Parliament in Brussels on 2nd October 2013, from 11:30-14:30 in the Paul Henri Spaak Building, Room P5B001. Presenting the report will be its author, Mme Farida Shaheed, UN Special Rapporteur in the field of Cultural Rights.

Call for Entries: CENSURADOS Film Festival - Lima, Peru

Fri, 23 Aug 2013 00:00:00 +0000

“The story that is behind a censored film can help us to understand better our society”

CENSURADOS Film Festival will take place in Lima (Peru) on December 2013 with the aim to give voice to those fiction, documentary and animation films that have been censored in different countries for political, religious, sexual or environmental reasons, among others. The Festival wants to open a new space for directors and producers that their films have been prohibited and wants to know and talk about the story that is behind each censure. Since the beginning of cinema many films and scenes have been prohibited by different social, religious and political groups. Yet in 1894 we can find the first images censored in United States (“Carmencita”) that were prohibited by two local politicians because the scene shown the underskirt of the dancer. Others films such Clockwork Orange and The Great Dictator were also censored in the past and nowadays are some of the greatest films of cinema’s history. These are only some examples of how the censure has been very close to the history of the cinema and the documentary films.

The Gezi Park Experience

Thu, 20 Jun 2013 00:00:00 +0000

by Pelin Tan

“An event is political if its material is collective, or if the event can only be attributed to a collective multiplicity.” —Alain Badiou

Before the Turkish government brutally invaded Taksim Square and Gezi Park with water cannons and tear gas last Saturday, protesters held forums to discuss sustainable action that would continue the resistance beyond the park’s occupation. The Gezi Park experience is about collaboration, solidarity despite differences, voluntary shared labor, an agonistic democratic platform, and friendship. Whatever form of protest the next demonstrations take, they must contain these core aspects of the “Gezi Park Experience,” with art and its dissemination playing a crucial role.

Forced to Flee: Exiled Voices and Visions for Justice - 11 June 2013

Mon, 10 Jun 2013 00:00:00 +0000

Forced to Flee: Exiled Voices and Visions of Justice

Tuesday, June 11 @ 12PM PST / 3PM EST

Greetings!

We are pleased to announce our upcoming conference call Forced to Flee: Exiled Voices and Visions for Justice, which we are presenting in collaboration with Arts & Democracy Project.

Emotions conveyed and evoked by art and culture can open hearts and minds, heal and transform, build community across difference, and promote peace, equality and justice, advancing positive social change. In Forced to Flee, we will hear refugee artists, artists forced into exile, cultural organizers and their allies talk about how they are using the power of art and culture to amplify the voices and visions of those forced to flee their countries of origin.

2013 ART for HEALTH Benefit - May 24, 6:30-9:30PM @ Project Reach NYC

Mon, 20 May 2013 00:00:00 +0000

Save the Date: Friday, May 24 6:30-9:30PM

Join us at Project Reach in Chinatown, New York City for an art exhibit, silent auction and performance to fund a mobile clinic this summer in rural villages in Cameroon.

Since 2009, the partnership between the U.S. charity organization Bush Medicine Partnership (Drexel University) and Hope International For Tikar People – a Cameroonian community based organization – have served more than 8000 people in the isolated communities in the rain forest of Cameroon.

'Winter of Discontent' screening @ 2013 Alwan Film Festival

Mon, 29 Apr 2013 00:00:00 +0000

Winter of Discontent screening @ 2013 Alwan Film Festival Thursday May 2, 6:30 PM - Anthology Film Archives

Co-presented by freeDimensional

Ibrahim El-Batout, Egypt, 2012, 94 mins

Set against the momentous backdrop of the mass protests of Cairo’s Tahrir Square that began on January 25, 2011, this film takes us on a compellingly raw and moving journey into the lives of an activist, a journalist, and a state security officer. Winter of Discontent poetically explores the anguish of a victim of state terror in 2009, presaging and intertwining with the pivotal events in 2011 that changed the face of Egypt. As the stories of the characters unfold, we are propelled headlong into the heady, often surreal atmosphere of terror and uncertainty that characterized the last days of Mubarak’s rule.

SAVE THE DATE! APRIL 25 - fD Exhibition Fundraiser - FRAGILE STATES

Wed, 10 Apr 2013 00:00:00 +0000

freeDimensional in partnership with the Brian Morris Gallery invites you to attend a group exhibition launch and fundraiser, Fragile States, on April 25, from 6-9PM.

Fragile States is an exploration of the physical and psychological experiences of persecution and forced displacement. The artists featured in the exhibition share a common experience of having to leave their country of origin after facing threats, violent assault, imprisonment or torture as a result of using their creative practice to voice the concerns of their communities.

ARTRAKER AWARD 2013: Call for Submissions

Tue, 19 Mar 2013 00:00:00 +0000

DEADLINE: 1 May 2013

submissions@artraker.org

The Artraker Fund awards art that makes a direct positive change in countries that have experienced social upheaval and violent conflict. The Fund was created in 2012 by International Conflict and Security (INCAS) Consulting Ltd.

The prize of GBP2500 is awarded to the winning submission in London on International Peace Day (21 September) each year.

An international panel of judges from both the art and peace-building disciplines assesses submissions for the Artraker Award. They look for experimentation and engagement, audacity, change and capacity to inspire.

Belarus Free Theatre, Taking up the death penalty in ‘Trash Cuisine’

Thu, 14 Feb 2013 00:00:00 +0000

Help Belarus Free Theatre tour an important piece of theatre, Trash Cuisine!

Click here to donate a few Pounds Sterling!

Trash Cuisine is a dynamic, affecting and innovative piece of theatre devised and developed from first degree research collected in Asia, Africa, U.S. and Europe by Belarus Free Theatre with the support of Amnesty International.

Hugely well received at its premiere in Stadsshouwberg, Amsterdam on 5 October 2012, supported by the European Cultural Foundation, Trash Cuisine explores issues behind imprisonment and torture with particular focus on the death penalty to create a challenging and nerve shredding performance.

A political refugee returns to his small village in West Africa to build a community radio station that educates and inspires

Mon, 28 Jan 2013 00:00:00 +0000

Radio Taboo is a development project and documentary film about Issa Nyaphaga, a political journalist in exile returning to his small village in West Africa to build a community radio station to educate his community about subjects that are often too taboo to talk about. Issa was a journalist in Cameroon in the 1990s where he was jailed and tortured for his political cartoons. He is now heading back to his village in Cameroon to build a community radio station to educate villagers about Public health, environmental issues, women’s issues and rights of gay and HIV infected people. Nditam, his village, has no running water, no electricity, no schools or hospitals and no public news service. The film follows his struggle to raise funds, get the materials, gather manpower, build the station, train citizen journalists and make the station work for the betterment of his community. It will be an adventure to travel with Issa as he fights against all odds to create this amazing project. The radio station will run on renewable energy and will feature citizen journalists reporting on local issues to 1 million people in the remote rainforest of Cameroon.

Zunar in protest of draconian Malaysian printing act

Wed, 02 Jan 2013 00:00:00 +0000

Zunar’s Press Release, 2nd January 2013

My latest cartoon book,“Lawak & Lawan” to protest Malaysian draconian printing act

My latest cartoon book, Lawak & Lawan (Fun & Fight) is produced to protest the Printing Presses and Publications Act 1984 (PPPA). Among cited in this Act under section, 11 (2) requires the name of the printer to be printed in each publication. Failure to comply can be punished with imprisonment not exceeding one year and a fine not exceeding RM5000 ( about USD1800) or both.

Eight charged with Victor Jara's 1973 murder in Chile

Sun, 30 Dec 2012 00:00:00 +0000

SANTIAGO, Chile — Eight retired army officers were charged on Friday with the murder of a popular songwriter and theater director, Víctor Jara, who was tortured and killed days after the 1973 military coup in a stadium that had been turned into a detention center.

Judge Miguel Vásquez charged two of the former officers, Pedro Barrientos and Hugo Sánchez, with committing the murder and six others as accomplices. Mr. Sánchez, a lieutenant colonel, was second in command at the stadium. Mr. Barrientos, a lieutenant from a Tejas Verdes army unit, currently lives in Deltona, a city southwest of Daytona Beach, Fla., and was interrogated by the F.B.I. earlier this year at the request of a Chilean court. Attempts to reach Mr. Barrientos for comment were unsuccessful; his two listed telephone numbers had been disconnected.

Dispatch: Mazen Maarouf on 'All that is banned is desired"

Tue, 27 Nov 2012 00:00:00 +0000

“All that is banned is desired”,

When art turns into a reflexive power, to get banned!

-1-

In the Norwegian capital sleeps on the shoulder of water Oslo opera house. It is a peaceful structure breathing below a changeable weather that displays simply the “unexpected”, the “percussive” and the “unrest”. The weather of Oslo resembles a state of instability. Political in the first sense and in a country somewhere, thousands of miles away from Oslo city. The “unexpected”, the “percussive” and the “unrest” are three vertices, each of particular dimension, that induce a temptation into the artist/writer/activist to move within and try to come up with a result. Yes, if these three vertices got joined together in a triangle, nothing can fit inside better than a chart of “politics of nowadays”. That may sort an elementary exercise in geometry. Is it easy to construct a triangle when the three points are located on the page? May be. A matter again to be thought about! Not that easy in fact. You have to cling in your neck a basket of requirements! Metaphorically speaking, to be able to connect the three vertices, you have to distinguish them first. And to be distinguished, an effort has to be done as they wouldn’t be located so clearly. And the medium that hosts them should be already existing, but either translucent, either turbid or dirty. However, you need also to track the “why” behind their location as well! Is that too complicated? The simplest way then, sounds to go backwards. If you know that the paper (the medium) we are talking about is nothing but the country, any country under political and military conflict, ethnic struggle, civil war, revolution, or any other kind of tension, then you can find your way to the “why” and you can understand how it means “translucent, turbid or dirty”. You will end up most probably pointing your finger to each of the vertices: the “unexpected”, the “percussive” and the “unstable”.

MUSIC, TOLERANCE & DEFIANCE - October 19, 6:30 PM

Sun, 14 Oct 2012 00:00:00 +0000

MUSIC, TOLERANCE & DEFIANCE: An evening with Shahin Najafi & Mohsen Namjoo

Shahin Najafi and Mohsen Namjoo are among the leading Iranian musical artists working today.

Najafi is visiting the U.S. for the first time since the fatwa and death threats against him in May 2012 resulting from the release of his satirical rap, “Naghi.” His speaking tour includes Berkeley, San Diego, Los Angeles, and Orlando. In 2009, Namjoo was sentenced in absentia to five years in prison for insulting religious sanctities by singing some Quranic verses to music in a private recording, which was later released without his authorization.

Host an Occupier Now !

Sun, 16 Sep 2012 00:00:00 +0000

fD Board members Martin Rosengaard and Todd Lester have partnered with the S17 Support Group to set up a hosting system in New York city for Occupy Wall Street’s one-year anniversary weekend: Host an Occupier.

The Anniversary of Occupy Wall Street is upon us. Organizing work is nearly complete as cities across the country and the world prepare to celebrate the progress of our first year in the fight for economic justice. A “Festival des Indignées” is being planned in Paris. An “Open Knowledge Festival” kicks off in Helsinki, Finland.

1ST BREAK OUT : Exhibition by Kyaw Thu - 25-27 May - New York City

Thu, 24 May 2012 00:00:00 +0000

First Breakout – Artistic Expressions from the Heart – Exhibition by Kyaw Thu

“I have been denied all rights to artistic creation in Myanmar since September 2007, when I offered alms and water to monks walking in peaceful protest and reciting prayers of love during the Saffron Revolution, all the way to my current visit to the United States. I would like to call it the first breakout, the first artistic expressions from the heart, to be able to publicly exhibit the heartfelt works I have painted during my visit to America.” - Kyaw Thu (film actor, director, producer, painter, undertaker)

freeDimensional @ the ICORN General Assembly - Stockholm, Sweden. 9-11 May 2012

Mon, 07 May 2012 00:00:00 +0000

fD Director, Sidd Joag joins more than 100 delegates, guest writers and observers from as many as 32 different countries heading to Stockholm Wednesday 9-Friday 11 May, to take part in the 2012 International Cities Of Refuge Network General Assembly. Established as an independent, international organisation since 2010, more than 30 ICORN member cities from all over Europe and beyond will be represented when it all breaks loose at Kulturhuset in Stockholm.

CROSSFIRE - Photographs by Shahidul Alam @ QMA - Sunday, April 15

Thu, 12 Apr 2012 00:00:00 +0000

Forum & Opening Reception for Partnership Gallery Exhibition in Collaboration with Drik Picture Library, Dhaka.

Bangladeshi photographer and human rights activist Shahidul Alam’s Crossfire exhibition will open in the Partnership Gallery at the Queens Museum of Art on 15th April, 2012 and run until May 6th, 2012. The exhibition aims to gather international support for a campaign to end extra-judicial killings in Bangladesh by state forces, usually called “crossfire.”

In 2004, responding to a perceived law and order “crisis” the Bangladesh government created a new, armed enforcement agency, called Rapid Action Battalion (RAB). The agency was formed by taking officers from the Bangladesh Police, Army, Navy and Air Force. Over time, the agency’s budget and power grew until today it is one of the largest and most feared groups inside Bangladesh. From the very early days, RAB became notorious for killing people it was trying to capture, often during gun battles, which the government always claims is due to “crossfire.”

Art For Health @ Project Reach NYC - 31 March 2012

Sat, 31 Mar 2012 00:00:00 +0000

Art for Health is a charity event that is hosted every spring to support innovative medical projects in Cameroon, Africa. Through art exhibitions, performance, live music, body painting, as well as slam and spoken word poetry, the artist’s creative energy is channeled towards supporting health projects for indigenous communities in Sub-Saharan Africa as well as towards promoting the message of social justice and free expression for people world-wide.

Since 2009, Hope International for Tikar People, founded by Cameroonian native and activist Issa Nyaphaga and the Bush Medicine Partnership, founded by students from Drexel University College of Medicine in Philadelphia have been working together to improve the quality of life in the Tikar villages in Eastern Cameroon as well as other marginalized communities with no access to medical care. Thus far, the partnership has served the urgent health needs of over 8,000 people in the isolated tribal communities of Cameroon.

Press alert: Music Freedom Day - Saturday 3 March

Thu, 01 Mar 2012 00:00:00 +0000

Press alert: Music Freedom Day - a global manifestation for freedom of expression for musicians on Saturday 3 March

In 48 hours, on this Saturday, the annual Music Freedom Day is marked with events, seminars, exhibitions, film shows, radio programmes and news paper articles on freedom of expression for musicians and composers all over the world.

List and programmes of events Events are currently being prepared in 19 countries: Activities on Music Freedom Day 2012

fD @ Artsfex - Copenhagen Summit on Artistic Freedom of Expression, 9-11 December

Tue, 06 Dec 2011 00:00:00 +0000

fD joins the Artsfex summit in Copenhagen on 9-11 December 2011 along with several prominent national and international artists’ networks, and freedom of expression organisations. The summit is organised by Freemuse and Danish PEN, and funded by the Danish Ministry of Culture. Participants will present http://www.raybani.com/ recent examples of censorship of the arts, and discuss the effects of censorship and repression of artists. Featured presenters include founding members of the Belarus Free Theatre, currently living in exile.

VI. Festival Against Censorship honors fD stakeholder ZUNAR with the 2011 "Courage to Fight Censorship" award

Thu, 10 Nov 2011 00:00:00 +0000

BILBAO, Spain. November 10, 2011 -

ZUNAR a.k.a. Zulkiflee Anwar Haque, who has been drawing editorial cartoons for the past 20 years in Malaysia, was awarded the “Courage To Fight Censorship” Award at the VI. Festival Against Censorship.

ZUNAR uses his drawing pen as a weapon to fight state corruption and abuse of power. He has turned the spotlight on local public-interest issues such as the politically explosive (literally!) and unsolved murder of a Mongolian woman, the political conspiracy against the former-deputy-prime-minister- turned-Opposition-Leader Anwar Ibrahim, the domineering wife of the present prime minister, and the shady Scorpene submarine purchases that are now being investigated in France.

fD participates in VI. Festival Against Censorship - November 7-11

Fri, 04 Nov 2011 00:00:00 +0000

fD program coordinator Sidd Joag joins a roundtable discussion at the VI. Festival Against Censorship in Bilbao, Spain. Now in its 6th year, the Festival is organized by the Basque production company Serrano in collaboration with FREEMUSE and in 2010 honored fD with its annual No Censorship award.

Highlights of this year’s Festival program include fD stakeholders: Malaysian cartoonist ZUNAR, and Zimbabwean artist Owen Maseko.

“Zunar has been drawing editorial cartoons for the past 20 years in malaysia. Zunar uses his drawing pen as a weapon to fight state corruption and abuse of power. seven of his books are banned by the malaysian government.”

'Cultures of Resistance' - Artists on Art and Activism

Thu, 27 Oct 2011 00:00:00 +0000

fD program coordinator and visual artist Sidd Joag joins a panel with poet Suheir Hammad, filmmaker Iara Lee and Paul D. Miller a.k.a D.J. Spooky, to explore the role of the artist in a global society, including that of the diasporic artist. The panel will be moderated by http://www.raybandasoleit.com/ NYU Tisch School of the Arts’ Arts and Public Policy Chair Randy Martin. 7-9PM @ NYU Casa Italiana Zerilli-Marimò

As part of the program, fD and Residency Unlimited will facilitate a working session on a new residency and resource mapping initiative for artists-in-exile in New York City, including invited guests and open to the public. 3-5PM. @ NYU Institute for Public Knowledge

fD participates in Creative Time's 'Living as Form' exhibition - Friday, September 30 @ Essex Street Market

Wed, 28 Sep 2011 00:00:00 +0000

On Friday, September 30, from 4pm to 8pm, performance artist and painter Chaw Ei Thein and radio journalist Lawman Lynch will create “social space” in Creative Time’s ‘Living as Form’ exhibition at the Essex Street Market. [www.creativetime.org/livingasform]

Transit Lounge/Waiting Room captures the experiences of fD’s New York stakeholders (artists displaced from their home countries as a result of their artistic activism) through http://www.gooakley.com/ performance, visual art, and video interviews. Transit Lounge/Waiting Room will highlight the situation in Burma, in particular the continual attacks on free expression. It explores the experience of displacement and acclimatization to a new environment when an artist is forced to depart their home country.

A global mechanism to support artists-in-distress

Sun, 17 Jul 2011 00:00:00 +0000

The centerpiece of freeDimensional’s three-year strategy is the development of an Ray Ban outlet international system of Regional Triage Teams to support culture workers in distress. Six regional triage teams representing Asia, Africa, the Middle East, North America, South America, and Europe are meeting from July 13-20 on Wasan Island in the Muskoka Lakes of Ontario, Canada, hosted by the Breuninger Stiftung. freeDimensional organized a skills-sharing workshop on the logistical, administrative and resource identification (e.g. psycho-social, legal, income generation, health care) aspects of case management. In turn, participants from Canada, US, Belgium, Colombia, France, India, Uzbekistan, Rwanda, South Africa, Guatemala, Germany, Argentina, Denmark, UK, and Iraq helped to construct regional snapshots of political conditions for artists, and shared their concerns through an experimental Cultural Rights Clinic.

Art Residencies & Conflict Areas (June 24/25)

Wed, 15 Jun 2011 00:00:00 +0000

A two-day event that engages artists, independent arts organizations, residency programmers, and community initiatives on specific areas and cheap oakley sunglasses conceptions of conflict. Issues for discussion will include mobility, community outreach, and exchange of knowledge through the broadly-interpreted artist residency model. Art Residencies & Conflict Areas is initiated by Residency Unlimited, and jointly organized by Residency Unlimited, freeDimensional & the Creative Resistance Fund, and independent researcher Gaby Ron. The program is supported by the Goethe-Institut New York. Get more information here

Border Statements & the Regional Triage Team Model

Mon, 13 Jun 2011 00:00:00 +0000

Border Statements is a community arts initiative and artist residency in Ruili City, Yunnan province, on the China-Burma (Myanmar) border, which uses arts and cultural programs to counteract the adverse effects of the Golden Triangle drug trade, human trafficking and HIV/AIDS on ethnic http://www.raybani.com/ minority youth. Launched in 2007 by Zero Capital Arts, the project relies on a network of international and local artists, educators, volunteers, and businesses to provide artists, culture-bearers, community members, students and youth with opportunities to collaborate and develop strategies for cultural preservation.

A training for supporting culture workers in distress

Fri, 10 Jun 2011 00:00:00 +0000

From July 15-20, freeDimensional is training 12 knowledge workers from around the world on our resource mapping methodology for supporting artists whose activist work puts them in danger. If you know someone well-suited for this role, please share our Case Consultant Terms of Reference. We will be hosted by the Breuninger Stiftung on their Wasan Island conference facility in the Muskoka Lakes of Ontario, Canada. The event is made possible through the expertise and financial support of partners such as Latin American Network of Art for Social Transformation and Arts Network Asia.

{MANAGUA, NICARAGUA} EspIRA / La Espora art space holds community forum

Fri, 27 May 2011 00:00:00 +0000

Arts Collaboratory and the Triangle Arts Trust invited fD founder, Todd Lester for a Knowledge & Skills Sharing Residency at one of the few artist residency programs in Central America, Espira / La Espora. One of the outcomes is a community forum on Friday, May 27, 2011.

fD Staff goes to School {for Creative Activism}

Sat, 21 May 2011 00:00:00 +0000

fD Management Coordinator, Dana Penrod participated in the NYC edition of The School for Creative Activism (SCA). SCA is a participatory workshop infusing community organizing and civic engagement with culture and creativity. Working directly with organizers and community actors, the SCA leverages the strengths of grassroots activism and the attention grabbing and complex messaging of art through a curriculum designed to:

Teach cultural tactics and creative strategies employed effectively by organizers in the past.
Recognize and draw upon the cultural resources and creative cheap oakley sunglasses talents residing within individuals, organizations, and communities in the present.
Collectively run scenarios and plan campaigns that utilize culture and creativity.
Build a network of organizers and artists using a model of creative organizing more effective in our media-saturated, spectacle-savvy world

fD founder participates in Aesthetic Justice seminar (May 14) in NYC

Fri, 06 May 2011 00:00:00 +0000

Provisions Learning Project and Lambent Foundation invite you to the Aesthetic Justice Seminar, curated by Thomas Keenan and Niels Van Tomme. The seminar is organized within the framework of Provisions’s current Aesthetic Justice exhibition at Lambent Foundation, which features the works of Alyse Emdur, Rajkamal Kahlon, Carlos Motta, and Larissa Sansour. This daylong seminar will stage a number of http://www.troakley.com/ thought-provoking dialogues between the artist in the exhibition and renowned human rights practitioners, scholars, writers, and journalists. The aim is to explore the intersections between artistic practices and the field of human rights, and to discuss implications for the notion and practice of justice. Saturday, May 14, program runs from 10 AM to 6 PM – RSVP for the seminar and learn more about the exhibit.

Estonia & NYC: Sharing the Model of Critical Hosting

Thu, 28 Apr 2011 00:00:00 +0000

From April 14-17, freeDimensional’s program coordinator Sidd Joag was invited to present Art Spaces Hosting Activism and Strengthening Community Engagement at the Trans Europe Halles Meeting 71, titled ‘Shifting Gears’ in Tartu, Estonia. The meeting brought together representatives from nearly fifty of Europe’s leading independent cultural institutions and was an exciting opportunity for fD to present its Creative Safe Haven model to a wider European audience. Special thanks to Lemmitt Kaplinski for joining fD’s workshop and discussing his process and challenges in providing safe haven for cheap oakley Georgian poet Zurab Rtveliashvili, adding the necessary personalized perspective. ‘Shifting Gears’ included several performances, short presentations, workshops and discussions investigating the potentials for creative collaboration, artist mobility, resource exchange and capacity building between TEH member organizations. Congratulations to the Creative Center Carnation for hosting an exciting and productive meeting. As Tartu’s first full engagement with the international arts community, Meeting 71 was an important moment in the history of that city’s growing art and culture scene.

World Press Freedom Day (May 3) & the 'Exile' International cartoon exposition

Wed, 20 Apr 2011 00:00:00 +0000

On the occasion of World Press Freedom Day (May 3rd), La Maison des journalistes in Paris hosts the ‘Exile’ International cartoon exposition. ‘Exile’ is the brainchild of La Maison des journalistes resident, fD partner, and renowned Iranian cartoonist, Kianoush Ramezani. The international expo, will take place on May 3rd 2011, and bring together a hundred cartoons by some of the most talented cartoonists in the world. A touring exhibition will start in the building of La Maison des journalistes in Paris and will then move to Ray Ban outlet several cities in France and Europe. The main goal of the expo is to attract the media and public attention to the critical work performed by La Maison des journalistes, in helping exiled journalists who were forced to leave their home countries to escape persecution. La Maison des journalistes provides them with a housing solution and helps them through the many difficulties they face at the time of their arrival in France. Posters, postcards and a catalog of all the ‘Exile’ cartoons will be created and sold to support La Maison Des Journalistes.

LIMA, PERU: Presentation of Spanish-language guide for Art Spaces Hosting Activism

Fri, 01 Apr 2011 00:00:00 +0000

From March 22-27, 2011, freeDimensional director, Todd Lester was invited to present the publication Art Spaces Hosting Activism & Strengthening Community Engagement - a Tactical Notebook made in collaboration with New Tactics in Human Rights - at two venues in Lima, Peru. This was the second meeting of Residencias en Red [iberoamérica]. R_en_R [i] was founded in November 2008 at a meeting organized by the Cultural Center of Spain in Sao Paulo. The initiative supports the creation of a network intended to strengthen the organizational capacities of residency programs and to generate a space for dialogue between art spaces at the regional level, as well as promoting artist Gafas Ray Ban outlet mobility. There were over 20 artist residency programs in attendance at the encounter, which gave freeDimensional a wonderful opportunity to share its model of Creative Safe Haven more broadly in the region.

Thami Mnyele was both an artist and a freedom fighter ... Celebrate 20 years of the Thami Mnyele Foundation

Mon, 07 Mar 2011 00:00:00 +0000

On June 14, 1985, Thami Mnyele was shot dead by South African Defense Force (SADF) soldiers outside his home in Gaborone. He had expected to move to Lusaka the next day and large collections of his art works that were packed into a portfolio were taken by the SADF. A week later, his work was displayed on SABC television as evidence of Thami’s ‘terrorist’ activities. In the early 1980s, Thami worked with ANC printers designing posters, mastheads, and stickers under the ANC’s name. He designed the first draft of the current ANC logo during this period. Learn more about Mnyele’s role in the anti-Apartheid struggle.

Chobi Mela in Dhaka this week // Founder Shahidul Alam joins fD Advocates

Sun, 23 Jan 2011 00:00:00 +0000

The Chobi Mela VI - International Festival of Photography will be held from 21 January to 3 February, 2011 in Dhaka Bangladesh and will present the work of creative artists participating from 30 countries. The festival with its theme “Dreams” is designed to be a birthplace of ideas, and a crossover meeting point for many artists. It will open http://www.raybandasoleit.com/ a portal to a mystical world of images showcasing new trends in photography and bringing to the fore issues of our troubled world. In congruence with the exhibitions there will be 8 workshops, 2 portfolio reviews and a week-long discussions, seminars and lectures at Goethe-Institut Auditorium that will initiate debates and discussions on issues central to contemporary photographic practice. The main attraction on the 22 January at Goethe-Institut will be a video conference with Dr. Luis Moreno-Ocampo, Prosecutor, International Criminal Court. In this position, his mandate is to select and trigger investigations and prosecutions of the most serious crimes of concern to the international community, namely genocide, crimes against Ray Ban outlet humanity and war crimes. The Inaugural ceremony and the evening presentations will also be broadcast live on the internet and you can read the festival blog here.

Limits to Free Speech? Symposium on Freedom of Speech & Online resource on Inflammatory Speech

Thu, 20 Jan 2011 00:00:00 +0000

The exhibition Freedom of Speech at Neuer Berliner Kunstverein and Kunstverein Hamburg questions and analyzes the concept of freedom of speech and the ideological role it plays in Western democracies. Everything revolves around the questions: What if only those who tell the truth were allowed to speak? What consequences does freedom of expression have for our society? The accompanying symposium will discuss the central issues via an interdisciplinary approach.

World Policy Institute Senior Fellow Susan Benesch, who directs the project, Dangerous Speech on the Road to Genocide and writes the Voices that Poison blog says “Thanks to new media, inflammatory speech is more pervasive and more influential than ever before. It is easy to jump to conclusions about that influence in particular Ray Ban outlet cases, but more research is needed in order to better understand the impact inflammatory speech has on individuals and groups. Responses to limit inflammatory speech need not be limited to government regulation; there are other ways of reducing the danger.” freeDimensional works on cases dealing with freedom of expression everyday; we would love to hear your views on whether freedom of speech, expression and thought is a relative issue, or (stated differently) what advice can you offer a US-based non-profit organization that seeks to have a non-nationalist, global approach to supporting free expression. Let us know your thoughts!