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.’
These figures feature in the Executive Summary of PEN America’s latest report (released 27 June) titled, ‘Art is Power: 20 Artists on How They Fight for Justice and Inspire Change’. It was published by the organisation’s working division, Artists at Risk Connection (ARC), which has a mission to ensure that artists and cultural workers can live and create without fear, regardless of their country or discipline.
