Painters, poets, singers, photographers, dramatists, authors, film-makers, musicians, and other artists are targeted because of their art and creation: they are silenced and censored through imprisonment, harrassment, intimidation, and in the worse cases, killed. The perpetrators are governments and state agents, but also non-state actors – a variety of groups intent on keeping full control on all forms of expression and thus on suppressing dissenting voices or images, in the name of purity, morality, religion or for a variety of other reasons.

ARTICLE 19 is working on a number of projects:

• The ArtVenture Freedom to Create Prize in November 2008 recognised the ways that artists use their work to defend and promote human rights, including freedom of expression, empathy, equality and understanding;
• The Artist Alert is a new publication launched in 2008 to document the repression of artists around the world and bring their cases to the attention of the global community.

ARTICLE 19 publications:

• Unveiled: Art and Censorship in Iran
• Lebanon: Censoring Art and Artists
• Russia: Art, Religion and Hatred
• Voices from Iraq
• Voices from Iran
  
• Panel Discussion on Film and Censorship