When artists expose and push back, they are often censored or, worse, jailed. Image: Shutterstock.
Last week PEN America (New York) – an organisation that describes itself as standing at the intersection of literature and human rights – made the statement: ‘Around the world, socially engaged artists are being threatened, harassed and persecuted by authoritarian governments, which increasingly employ surveillance technologies against them.’
The statement was backed by some pretty alarming statistics:
Gina Fairley is ArtsHub's Senior Contributor, after 12 years in the role as National Visual Arts Editor. She has worked for extended periods in America and Southeast Asia, as gallerist, arts administrator and regional contributing editor for a number of magazines, including Hong Kong based Asian Art News and World Sculpture News. She is an Art Tour leader for the AGNSW Members, and lectures regularly on the state of the arts. She is based in Mittagong, regional NSW.
Instagram: fairleygina
