In three weeks, the Human Rights Foundation (HRF)’s Art in Protest program will head to Denmark for the Roskilde Festival, one of the largest European festivals.
Join HRF’s panel, The Power and Risk of Art, at the Festival’s Eos Stage on July 4 at 12:00. Panelists include Alireza Shojaian, Emmanuel Jal, and Natalia Kaliada, displaced artists at the frontlines of democracy-building in the Middle East, Africa, and Eastern Europe. Together, they will discuss how art can be a force for change, particularly in environments that restrict and repress human rights.
Alireza Shojaian is an Iranian visual artist and advocate for LGBTQ+ rights. Shojaian left Iran in 2017, where LGBTQ+ people continue to experience persecution, repression, and execution. He now lives in exile in France. In 2022, Shojaian and the PaykanArtCar were awarded the Václav Havel International Prize for Creative Dissent for transforming a historic 1974 Paykan automobile into a daring piece of art that advocates for human rights and dignity in Iran.
Emmanuel Jal is a South Sudanese recording artist acclaimed worldwide for his unique hip-hop style. His artistic message of peace and reconciliation stems from his experiences as a child soldier in the war-torn region of Southern Sudan. Jal was awarded the 2018 Havel Prize. More recently, in 2023, he published “My Life Is Art,” providing his pillars for overcoming adversity and living a life of purpose.
Natalia Kaliada is a co-founder and artistic director of Belarus Free Theatre, an underground theatre group formed in response to the severe censorship and repression of Alexander Lukashenko’s regime. The group performs provocative, often secret, plays on state repression and its culture of fear. It has repeatedly endured harassment from the regime. In 2010, Kaliada and her husband were forced into exile and sought political asylum in the UK. HRF awarded Kaliada and the Belarus Free Theatre the 2018 Havel Prize.