In this section, advocates and artists discuss the dangers faced by creative people in different situations around the world, from sexual harassment in rehearsal rooms to retaliation from governments in response to political art, and what we can do to protect them. Consider starting with Jessica Litwak’s 2018 series Artist Rights and Safety.
The Latest
Essay
For Palestinian Theatremakers, the Future Is a Dangerous Question
by Bayan Shbib
31 March 2026
Essay
Guarding the Future of International Artistic Exchange at the 2025 IPC Convening
Artist and health and wellness educator Molly Schenck discusses how stress, trauma, and burnout can show up in creative spaces and offers advice on how theatremakers can work from a trauma-informed lens.
Conversation with the publishers of Shuddhashar which focuses on human rights, freedom of expression, and literature
Friday 27 August 2021
Oslo, Norway
Join Shuddhashar’s publisher and editor Tutul and co-editor Lisa Irene Knight as they retell origin stories, narratives of exile and transformation, and highlights about Shuddhashar’s online international journey as a magazine about human rights, freedom of expression, and literature. Livestreaming on the commons-based, peer produced HowlRound TV network at howlround.tv Friday 27 August 2021 at 8 a.m. EDT (New York, UTC -4) / 1 p.m. BST (London, UTC +1) / 14:00 CEST (Oslo, UTC +2) / 18:00 BST (Dhaka, UTC +6) / 20:00 SGT (Singapore, UTC +8).
ETC International Theatre Conference | The Week of New European Drama
Thursday 10 June 2021
Europe
The European Theatre Convention presented the panel Silenced Theatres in 2021: Illiberal Democracies & Effects of COVID-19 happening within the context of ETC International Theatre Conference and The Week of New European Drama. This panel will livestream for the global, commons-based peer produced HowlRound TV network on Thursday 10 June at 10 a.m. CEST (Berlin, UTC +2) / 11 a.m. EEST (Bucharest, UTC +3) / 9 a.m. BST (London, UTC +1).
Class Consciousness and the Transformation of the World
20 April 2021
Chris Myers talks about the importance of class politics and makes a case for why artists ought to reckon with it, both as creative people and just plain workers.
Claire K. Redfield shares why it’s important for theatremakers to create trauma-responsive rehearsal spaces and offers four Rs—realizing, recognizing, responding, and resisting—as a way to approach the process.
A conversation about breakdance battling across the Atlantic focusing on the situation of street dancers and artists in violent Guatemala
Friday 15 January 2021
Malmö, Sweden
Safe Havens Freedom Talks presented the conversation Break Dancing in Gang-Dominated Guatemala livestreaming on the global, commons-based, peer produced HowlRound TV network at howlround.tv on Friday 15 January 2021 at 2:30 p.m. CET (Stockholm, UTC +1) / 13:30 GMT (London, UTC +0) / 8:30 a.m. EST (Boston, UTC -5) / 7:30 a.m. CST (Guatemala City, UTC -6)
Resource-givers and policy makers in fields pertinent to freedom of artistic expression and the protection and defense of at-risk artists
Thursday 3 December 2020
Malmö, Sweden
Safe Havens conference organized from Malmö, Sweden featured international resource-givers and policy makers in fields pertinent to freedom of artistic expression and the protection and defense of at-risk artists. Livestreamed on Thursday 3 December 2020 at 7:30 a.m. EST (New York, UTC -5) / 12:30 p.m. GMT (London, UTC +0) / 13:30 CET (Berlin, UTC +1) / 20:30 CST (Taipei, UTC +8).
The Colombian Resistance Way / El Camino del Colombianx en Resistencia
3 December 2020
Kar Eleggua Luna Olokun Laverde talks about the relationship between state, culture, and art in Colombia; the effects of COVID-19 on resistance communities; cultural organizations that empower marginalized communities through art; and more. / Kar Eleggua Luna Olokun Laverde Sanjuan habla sobre la relación entre estado, cultura y arte en Colombia; los efectos del COVID-19 sobre las comunidades en resistencia; organizaciones culturales que empoderan comunidades marginadas a través del arte; y más.
A conversation around restrictive Chinese government policies on China’s Uyghur ethnic minority in Uyghur Autonomous region (East Turkistan)
Monday 23 November 2020
Malmo, Sweden
Safe Havens Freedom Talks welcomed the speakers who will hold a conversation around restrictive Chinese government policies on China’s Uyghur ethnic minority in Uyghur Autonomous region (East Turkistan) in a panel discussion titled Never Again at 8:30 a.m. EST (New York, UTC -5) / 13:30 GMT (London, UTC +0) / 14:30 CET (Berlin, UTC +1) / 21:30 SGT (Singapore, UTC +8).
Will Free Speech Save Our Democracy? With Ece Temelkuran, Cian Westmoreland, and Renata Ávila
Thursday 19 November 2020
Ghent, Belgium
Will free speech save our democracy? Turkish author and ex-journalist Ece Temelkuran discussed together with the former drone program technician and whistle-blower Cian Westmoreland and the international human rights lawyer Renata Ávila the right of free speech and its responsibility in an age of disinformation.
Resilience and thriving strategies for 2020 and beyond.
Thursday 15 October to Friday 13 November
Online
The ArtsLink Assembly convened artists, thinkers, organizations, and activists to explore resilience and thriving strategies for art and artists in the (post)-pandemic world in a series of online events and discussions. Livestreamed Thursday 15 October to Friday 13 November 2020.
A panel on how Covid-19 is affecting press freedom globally
Friday 30 October 2020
Malmö, Sweden
Safe Havens Freedom Talks presented a panel in collaboration with Index on Censorship livestreamed on the global, commons-based, peer produced HowlRound TV network at howlround.tv on Friday 30 October 2020 at 2:30 p.m. CET (Stockholm, UTC +2) / 13:30 BST (London, GMT +0) / 16:00 MSK (Nizhny Novgorod, UTC +3) / 9:30 a.m. EDT (New York, UTC -4)
Towards a humane migration policy with Muhammad al-Kashef and Efi Latsoudi.
Thursday 1 October 2020
Ghent, Belgium
NTGent presented School of Resistance, Episode Six: Our Human Rights Are On Fire livestreamed on the global, commons-based, peer produced HowlRound TV network at howlround.tv on Thursday 1 October 2020 at 20:00 CEST (Ghent, UTC +2) / 19:00 BST (London, UTC +1) / 2:00 p.m. EDT (New York, UTC -4) / 11:00 a.m. PDT (San Francisco, UTC -7).
Safe Havens Freedom Talks presented the panel Arts and Culture in Southeast Asia: Proxy Wars in collaboration with ArtsEquator livestreamed on the global, commons-based, peer produced HowlRound TV network at howlround.tv on Friday 25 September 2020 at 8:30 p.m. SGT (Singapore, UTC +8) / 2:30 p.m. CEST (Stockholm, UTC +2) / 13:30 BST (London, UTC +1) / 8:30 a.m. EDT (New York, UTC -4)
Nicole Stodard and Kaja Dunn, in partnership with the Parent Artist Advocacy League, led a Twitter chat navigating work/life balance and anti-racist activism as a #ParentArtist during the COVID-19 pandemic.
A Virtual Celebration of Arts and Humanity, organized from Kigali, Rwanda.
Friday 17 July to Sunday 19 July 2020
Kigali, Rwanda
The Ubumuntu Arts Festival in Kigali, Rwanda presented their 6th Annual Conference & Festival livestreamed on the global, commons-based peer produced HowlRound TV network Friday 17 July to Sunday 19 July 2020.
A conversation hosted by On the Move, a cultural mobility information network
Tuesday 9 June 2020
Brussels, Belgium
On the Move — a cultural mobility information network — presented a conversation about (En)forced Mobility livestreamed on the global, commons-based peer produced HowlRound TV network on Tuesday 9 June 2020 at 10 a.m. EDT (New York, UTC -4) / 14:00 UTC +0 / 15:00 BST (London, UTC +1) / 16:00 CEST (Brussels, UTC +2).
Meet Ramy Essam, rock star, human rights defender and an important voice in the Egyptian revolution, in conversation on the Balaha case with Alfons Karabuda from UNESCO founded International Music Council (IMC), Andra Matei, Avant-Garde Lawyers – Defending Artists. Sanni Kahilainen, campaign leader and with Ole Reitov, consultant and founder of Freemuse as the moderator.
A panel hosted by Játéktér Theatre Journal — Cluj, Romania
Wednesday 29 May 2019
Cluj, Romania
Játéktér theatre journal presented the panel Culture after #MeToo livestreamed from Planetarium Cafe in Cluj, Romania on the global, commons-based peer produced HowlRound TV network at howlround.tv on Wednesday 29 May 2019 at 12 p.m. EDT (New York, UTC -4) / 16:00 UTC+0 / 5 p.m. BST (London, UTC +1) / 18:00 CEST (Budapest, UTC +2) / 19:00 EEST (Cluj, UTC +3).
Progress of Education and Prevention in The Theatre
In recognition of National Sexual Assault Awareness Month, Yvette Heyliger of the League of Professional Theatre Women and HowlRound Theatre Commons facilitated a Twitter chat to discuss about preventing sexual harassment, misconduct, and assault in the creative workspace.
