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Artist Rights and Safety

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

We Can’t Build an Equitable Theatre While Ignoring COVID
Essay
We Can’t Build an Equitable Theatre While Ignoring COVID
by Taylor Leigh Lamb
21 March 2024
For a Resilient US Theater, Post-Pandemic
Video
For a Resilient US Theater, Post-Pandemic
A presentation of key findings from a transnational study on theatre during and after the pandemic.
Wednesday 3 April 2024
Resisting “Yes, And” Culture and Learning to Say No
Essay
Resisting “Yes, And” Culture and Learning to Say No
by Sara Božin
8 January 2024
event poster for freedom talk at the power of art.
Freedom Talk at the Power of Art
Video

Freedom Talk at the Power of Art

We Don’t Call It Occupation, We Call It Ihtilal, Suffocation

Friday 8 July 2022
Jenin, Palestine

Safe Havens Freedom Talks (SH|FT) presented a Freedom Talk at Power of Art: We Don’t Call It Occupation, We Call It Ihtilal, Suffocation livestreaming on the global, commons-based, peer-produced HowlRound TV network at howlround.tv on Friday 8 July at 8:30 a.m. EDT (New York, UTC -7) / 12:30 p.m. UTC / 2:30 p.m. CEST (Stockholm, UTC +2) / 3:30 p.m. EEST (Jenin, UTC +3).

event poster for freedom talk at speak up.
Freedom Talk@SpeakUp
Video

Freedom Talk@SpeakUp

Focusing on the Situation of Artistic Freedom and Public Art in Turkey

Tuesday 14 June 2022
Turkey

Safe Havens Freedom Talks presented a Safe Havens conversation at Speak Up livestreaming on the global, commons-based, peer produced HowlRound TV network at howlround.tv on Tuesday 14 June 2022 at 8:30 a.m. EDT (New York, UTC -7) / 12:30 p.m. UTC / 2:30 p.m. CEST (Stockholm, UTC +2) / 3:30 p.m. TRT (Istanbul, UTC +3).

Six people dressed in fake soldier uniforms protest the war with a banner.
There Was Some Contemporary Culture Left in Russia. Then Putin Started a War.
Essay

There Was Some Contemporary Culture Left in Russia. Then Putin Started a War.

4 April 2022

Russian theatremaker Viktor Vilisov details the rapidly dwindling infrastructure for free expression in Russian culture in a time of war. As theatres and theatre workers navigate the deterioration of their sector, elements of performance persist in anti-war protests and state political messaging alike.

Four actors hold another one in the air.
There’s No Such Thing as an Original Play
Essay

There’s No Such Thing as an Original Play

22 March 2022

In this rethinking of authorship in contemporary theatre, Ezra Brain uses a collaborative definition of creativity to open up opportunities for theatre workers to advocate for pay equity.

Gender Euphoria teaser image.
Gender Euphoria, Episode 4: Training Cisgender Producers and Directors: It’s More than Remembering Pronouns
Podcast

Gender Euphoria, Episode 4: Training Cisgender Producers and Directors: It’s More than Remembering Pronouns

With Maybe Burke

3 March 2022

Gender Euphoria, the podcast, host Nicolas Shannon Savard sits down with actor, writer, and human rights advocate Maybe Burke to talk about her role at the Transgender Training Institute and their signature course, “Supporting Transgender Actors & Creatives.”

Several actors standing or sitting in a practice space.
Casting Roles with Nudity: Body Checks and Why They Never Should Have Existed
Essay

Casting Roles with Nudity: Body Checks and Why They Never Should Have Existed

17 February 2022

Katrina Stelk discusses the role of nudity in theatre and the problem with requiring body checks during the casting process.

From the Ground Up Podcast image featuring Mara Isaacs.
Connecting Collaborative Passion to a National Network
Podcast

Connecting Collaborative Passion to a National Network

15 February 2022

Tony Award-winning producer Mara Isaacs discusses how she puts collaboratively creative work in front of national audiences through her producing organization, Octopus Theatricals. This final episode of season two holds hot takes on boards, theatricality, and the connective tissue around artist-centered producing.

safe havens freedom talks poster.
Freedom Talk @ Women Chapter International
Video

Freedom Talk @ Women Chapter International

Artistic freedom is seriously under threat in Bangladesh

Friday 12 November 2021
Sweden and Bangladesh

Safe Havens Freedom Talks addressed the issue of artist and press freedom in Bangladesh with an event presenting first-hand experiences of the censorship and many challenges for women in the country, which led to the creation of Women Chapter International (WCI) livestreaming on the commons-based peer produced HowlRound TV network on Friday 12 November at 8:30 a.m EST (New York, UTC -5 ) / 13:30 GMT (London, UTC +0) / 14:30 CET (Stockholm, UTC +1) / 19:30 BST (Dhaka, UTC +6).

Six people in an office meeting.
Perspectives on Safety and Sustainability for Venues and Cultural Spaces
Essay

Perspectives on Safety and Sustainability for Venues and Cultural Spaces

A conversation with Sophie Blumberg, Ben Johnson, and Jonathan Secor

5 October 2021

Sophie Blumberg, Ben Johnson, and Jonathan Secor discuss the importance of safety and sustainability in theatremaking and what it means to make an artistic space safe for taking risks.

Trauma in Theatre: Considerations for Arts Leaders as In-person Theatre Returns
Essay

Trauma in Theatre: Considerations for Arts Leaders as In-person Theatre Returns

27 September 2021

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.

Safe Havens banner.
Safe Havens Freedom Talk @Shuddhashar
Video

Safe Havens Freedom Talk @Shuddhashar

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).

exterior of a theatre building.
Silenced Theatres in 2021: Illiberal Democracies & Effects of COVID-19
Video

Silenced Theatres in 2021: Illiberal Democracies & Effects of COVID-19

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).

Two shirtless men standing next to each other on a balcony from their bedroom.
The Future of Theatre and Performance Is Queer, but in Russia This Sounds Unimaginable
Essay

The Future of Theatre and Performance Is Queer, but in Russia This Sounds Unimaginable

1 June 2021

Viktor Vilisov talks about the realities of queer artists and art in Russia today.

The author, Chris Mayers (left), and Rachel Nicks (right) in a hospital scene for the play WAR.
Art at Work
Essay

Art at Work

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.

overlapping collage of plays featuring kate mcgee's lighting designs
Industry or Community
Essay

Industry or Community

What Are We Going Back To?

23 February 2021

Masha Tsimring talks about pay equity in the design world, the upsides and downsides of freelancing, how COVID-19 has affected designers, and more.

an actor laying onstage
The 4 Rs
Essay

The 4 Rs

Exploring Trauma-Responsivity and Self-Care

21 January 2021

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.

Title and details of the event.
Break Dancing in Gang-Dominated Guatemala
Video

Break Dancing in Gang-Dominated Guatemala

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)

A person playing an oud instrument.
Safe Havens Global Stream 2020
Video

Safe Havens Global Stream 2020

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).

Kar Eleggua Luna Olokun Laverde
Hazard / En Riesgo
Essay

Hazard / En Riesgo

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.

Freedom Talks and Safe Havens event poster.
Never Again
Video

Never Again

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).

school of resistance event banner.
School of Resistance—Episode Ten: Speaking the Truth is Not a Crime
Video

School of Resistance—Episode Ten: Speaking the Truth is Not a Crime

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.

An aerial photograph of a picnic table spanning the US Mexico border wall with people eating on either side.
ArtsLink Assembly: Radical Hospitality
Video

ArtsLink Assembly: Radical Hospitality

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.

Text, safe havens freedom talks at MOM #3 2020
Index on Censorship
Video

Index on Censorship

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)

School of Resistance, episode six, poster.
School of Resistance—Episode Six: Our Human Rights Are On Fire
Video

School of Resistance—Episode Six: Our Human Rights Are On Fire

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).

Pink background, text: safe havens in big yellow font. Below in black smaller letters, Freedom Talks @ ArtsEquator.
Arts and Culture in Southeast Asia: Proxy Wars
Video

Arts and Culture in Southeast Asia: Proxy Wars

A panel on recent arts and culture censorship

Friday 25 September 2020
Southeast Asia

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)