Free to create: artistic freedom in Europe E-Book

Sara Whyatt

• Herausgeber: Council of Europe
• Kategorie: Geisteswissenschaft
• Sprache: Englisch
• Veröffentlichungsjahr: 2023

Seitenzahl: 128

Beschreibung

“With democracy under great pressure, the key role of arts and culture as powerful means for maintaining constructive dialogue in democratic, diverse and open societies becomes ever more evident. The right to freedom of artistic expression is a key to this and ensures the pluralism and vitality of the democratic process.” (Secretary General Marija Pejčinović Burić) This report gives a comprehensive overview of the challenges that European artists and cultural workers face in the practice of their right to freedom of artistic expression. These range from laws that curtail creative freedom, attacks from nongovernmental groups and online threats to the “under-the-radar” pressures that contribute to self-censorship. It reflects the work carried out by the Council of Europe, other international intergovernmental organisations promoting freedom of expression and human rights, and non-governmental, civil society and cultural organisations concerned with both the rights of artists and cultural rights in general, as well as the experiences and perspectives of artists. It concludes with recommendations on what can be done to protect artistic freedom, by international institutions such as the Council of Europe and by the cultural sector and artists themselves.

Leseprobe

 

FREE TO CREATE:

ARTISTIC FREEDOM

IN EUROPE

 

Council of Europe report

on the freedom of artistic expression

 

Sara Whyatt

Contents

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CHAPTER 1INTRODUCTION

Restrictions on freedom of expression and artistic freedom affect the whole of society, bereaving it of its pluralism and the vitality of the democratic process. The ecosystem of artistic freedom affects education, cultural development, socio-economic standards, well-being, quality of life and social cohesion.1

On 10 November 2020 the Council of Europe Manifesto on the Freedom of Expression of Arts and Culture in the Digital Era was launched, drawn up as a contribution by the Steering Committee for Culture, Heritage and Landscape (CDCPP) to the 70th anniversary of the European Convention on Human Rights (the “Convention”) and in response to concerns about consistent and varied attacks on freedom of artistic expression in Europe, and to remind and encourage member states to uphold and protect this right. At the heart of the manifesto is the principle that freedom of expression and of artistic expression is a core human right that requires protection from attack and threat.

Endorsing the manifesto, the Secretary General of the Council of Europe Marija Pejčinović Burić, stated:

Freedom of artistic expression is part of freedom of expression, protected by Article 10 of the European Convention on Human Rights. The Manifesto on the Freedom of Expression of Arts and Culture in the Digital Era is a political commitment to promote the right of artists to express themselves freely even under difficult circumstances.

Freedom of artistic expression is facing growing pressure. More and more artists, experts and cultural professionals who hint at problems, spell out uncomfortable truths, make the unseen visible are subject to pressure, censorship, intimidation and harassment.

Moreover, the Covid-19 crisis has severely affected the working conditions and income of artists and the cultural and creative sector as a whole.

The Manifesto draws attention to these risks and sends a clear political signal to protect openness and creativity, which are essential ingredients of our democracies.2

Already under acute pressure when the manifesto was drawn up, artistic freedom remains under threat today, and has in some cases worsened under multiple challenges – political extremism, economic collapse, a global pandemic, threats from digitisation, an emerging environmental catastrophe and the return of war within Europe – all crises with major impacts on human rights across society. As Council of Europe Secretary General Marija Pejčinović Burić wrote in her 2021 Annual report: “With democracy under great pressure, the key role of arts and culture as powerful means for maintaining constructive dialogue in democratic and open societies becomes ever more evident. The right to freedom of artistic expression is a key to this and ensures the pluralism and vitality of the democratic process.”3 In these worrying times, many rights are under stress, among them artistic expression, making it doubly important to continue to monitor the state of artistic freedom and find solutions to ameliorate areas of its decline.

Artists, artistic mobility and artistic freedom are strategic resources for society, able to help overcome fragmentation and addressing today’s global challenges. (Bjørn Berge, Council of Europe Deputy Secretary General)4

Considering this, it is time to review the state of play in the field of artistic freedom, record the extent and patterns of suppression of artistic freedom, identify good practices, advise on what measures need to be taken to address existing problems and find solutions for the future.

In July 2022, 20 artists and cultural practitioners – visual and performance artists, writers and cultural commentators – from 12 European countries met at the Bunker cultural centre in Ljubljana, Slovenia. The aim was to discover their perspectives on artistic freedom where they are based and work and to feed these into this study. The meeting exposed the wide range of elements that prevent artists from across Europe from fully expressing and sharing their creativity. These included the “above the radar” attacks, such as imprisonment, physical threat and litigation, as well as the more prevalent and widespread yet less evident “under-the-radar” pressures that create a subtle climate of repression that blocks artists in their creativity or leads them to self-censorship.

This report reflects, inter alia, the work carried out by the Council of Europe, other regional and international intergovernmental organisations promoting freedom of expression and human rights, and by non-governmental, civil society and cultural organisations concerned with artists’ and cultural rights, as well as the experiences and perspectives of the artists who came together in Ljubljana. It reviews the patterns of abuse of freedom of artistic expression and developments in relevant legislation, monitoring and advocacy. It concludes with recommendations for what we can all do to protect artistic freedom, from intergovernmental institutions such as the Council of Europe through to the cultural sector and artists themselves.

METHODOLOGY

This report is based on desk research using dedicated sources on arts freedom as well as human and cultural rights monitors, media rights groups, media coverage and data collected by the author in her practice. The focus is on events in the period 2019 to 2022. Comments and observations by participants at the Ljubljana meeting, alongside suggestions for actions, form a significant element of this report. Following established practice of the Council of Europe Secretary General’s reports on the state of democracy, human rights and the rule of law in Europe, this report does not identify member states where there are infringements of artistic freedom or other rights unless when referring to commentary and statements already published by the Council of Europe.

1 Council of Europe (2020a).

2 Council of Europe (2020d).

3 Council of Europe (2021e).

4 Council of Europe (2021c).

CHAPTER 2 THE COUNCIL OF EUROPE AND THE DEFENCE OF FREEDOM OF ARTISTIC EXPRESSION

It is frequently the artists, experts and cultural professionals who hint at problems, spell out uncomfortable truths, speak the unspoken and make the unseen visible – using their artistic and cultural means, and creating spaces for societal debate within and beyond the mainstream bodies of political discourse and in social media.1

Since it was founded in 1949, the Council of Europe has recognised the role of culture as a significant factor in the effective delivery of its core mission: to promote human rights, the practice of democracy and the rule of law among its member states. Specifically, its mission in the cultural field is described as:

promoting culture as the “soul of democracy” as a means to strong cultural policies and governance that include transparency, access, participation and creativity, respect for identity and diversity, intercultural dialogue and cultural rights – as the basis for respectful and tolerant living together in an ever-more complex world.2

These aims are put into practical effect through the Council of Europe’s CDCPP, which oversees projects that range from studies on culture’s contribution to democracy, the impact of digitisation and artificial intelligence (AI) on culture and of Covid-19 on the culture and creative sector. It also runs cultural policy advisory missions in the form of peer policy reviews and has established the Compendium of Cultural Policies and Trends that monitors developments in cultural policy across a broad range of topics, providing a public database of information, including single and comparative study reports on all member states. Next to this, the CDCPP implements a number of projects around the Council of Europe’s unique conventions in the cultural heritage and landscape sector.

THE MANIFESTO ON THE FREEDOM OF EXPRESSION OF CULTURE AND THE ARTS IN THE DIGITAL ERA

In recent years, the right to freedom of artistic expression has become of growing importance as democracy in Europe declines. The importance of this right was recognised by the Council of Europe’s launch of the Manifesto on the Freedom of Expression of Culture and the Arts in the Digital Era to mark the 70th anniversary of the Convention. The manifesto spotlights the need for a concise and valid political commitment to safeguard artistic freedom in Europe today, to be used as a common basis for understanding the core value of democracy among member states.

Council of Europe Manifesto on the Freedom of Expression of Arts and Culture in the Digital Era

10 November 2020

Human rights are indivisible. Freedom of expression is a core human right.

Freedom of expression needs to be protected, be it from abuse of technological developments, attempts to muzzle dissenting voices in a society or misuse of the freedom of expression to foster divisive narratives, intolerance and hate.

Artistic and creative expression is a part of the freedom of expression and artists must be protected against censorship and any form of pressure or intimidation. Any limitation should be in line with the European Convention on Human Rights and the case law of the European Court of Human Rights.

Restrictions on freedom of expression and artistic freedom affect the whole of society, bereaving it of its pluralism and the vitality of the democratic process. The ecosystem of artistic freedom affects education, cultural development, socio-economic standards, well-being, quality of life and social cohesion.

It is the diversity in cultures, languages, art forms and free artistic expressions that nourishes intercultural dialogue and co-operation. Freedom of expression is reflected in a diverse and stimulating artistic and cultural environment and contributes to mutual understanding and living together.

Artistic freedom is associated, inter alia, with curiosity, creativity, innovation, self-realisation, critical thinking and those competences that will be increasingly required for mediating between humans and technologies: arts and culture are central for paving the human-centred way to the future that may be marked by machine-intelligence and man-machine interaction.

Arts and culture emphasise, express, communicate and anticipate the human reaction to social changes, and provide connections between economic/technological logics and sustainable development. Creativity and diverse cultural expressions, enabled and stimulated by artistic freedom and freedom of expression, are then catalysts for creating sustainable development planning and policies.

The power of artistic expression to communicate and open up for new perspectives and ideas makes the artist, artistic mobility and artistic freedom strategic resources for society, helping to overcome fragmentation and addressing today’s planetary challenges.

In these difficult times marked by the Covid-19 crisis and where artists’ and the cultural and creative sector’s revenue generation is severely affected by confinement measures and where at the same time the importance of arts and culture becomes ever more visible as societal resources to keep people included, connected and inspired, it is important to include artists and the cultural sector as beneficiaries of economic support packages made available by states.

Today’s artists and cultural workers are producing the heritage of tomorrow, frequently linking the past, present and future in their acts and products. Their work inspires by anticipating, reflecting on society and memorialising, strengthening individual and collective identities and raising democratic consciousness.

Neglect, damage, falsification and destruction of cultural heritage, especially in times of crisis, affect human rights. The protection, conservation and enhancement of cultural heritage is essential to the freedom of expression of human societies.

To pay tribute to the key role of arts, culture and the work of artists in the ongoing endeavour to uphold Human Rights, Democracy and the Rule of Law, and in line with the 30th Council of Europe Art Exhibition “The Desire for Freedom: Art in Europe since 1945” (2012-15), the Organisation is invited to dedicate a digital #exhibition to showcase works of art and culture from its member States that speak directly of the ongoing quest for freedom of expression and that feature artists as critical agents for the survival of vibrant democracies in the globalised society of today.

FREE TO CREATE, CREATE TO BE FREE

The launch of the manifesto was accompanied by an online exhibition of works by artists from Council of Europe member states, “Free to Create, Create to be Free”,3 reflecting on artistic freedom. The exhibition builds on the Council of Europe’s legacy of art exhibitions and provides a fresh view and an innovative means to communicate the Council of Europe’s values, and its recognition of artists’ roles as agents of the survival of vibrant democracies in the globalised and changing society of today. The initiative follows in the footsteps of the 30th Council of Europe art exhibition, “The Desire for Freedom: Art in Europe since 1945” (2012-15). Reflecting growing anxieties about pressures on European unity, the exhibition toured Berlin, Tallin, Milan and Krakow between 2012 and 2014, featuring work that explored artists’ reflections on human rights, equality and democracy.4 For almost 70 years, the Organisation has shown its commitment to the arts and culture through a series of arts exhibitions, the first held in 1954, the aim of which was to “increase knowledge and appreciation of European art as one of the highest expressions of Europe’s culture and common values”. The exhibitions aim to show culture and the arts as vectors of shared European values in response to current political events and challenges.5

This new “Free to Create, Create to be Free” exhibition is presented in a novel and widely accessible digital format that targets a wide audience and focuses on participative processes in the form of “not-curated curating”: it is not a top-down exhibition by an appointed person, who identifies artists and draws the lines of content and narratives, but is open for all member states of the Council of Europe to contribute with up to two artistic works on a topic and in a format they feel relevant to the overall issue. As of the end of 2022, Germany, Poland, Austria, Azerbaijan, Lithuania, Serbia, Georgia and Armenia had participated in the project, with Luxembourg and Norway preparing their contributions. Addressing the links between democratic growth, art, culture and human rights, this digital exhibition also shows the potential, power and perspectives that artistic freedom in democracies could offer in local neighbourhoods, or on national and global scales. The ambition is that after successively receiving artworks from all 46 member states, the growing platform will unfold as a living archive of artistic freedom of the 21st century in Europe.

THE EUROPEAN CONVENTION ON HUMAN RIGHTS

The Council of Europe is a membership organisation working under its statute to promote human rights, democracy and the rule of law among its member states. It focuses on addressing shared concerns by common agreement and action rather than by judgment and penalty setting. The Council of Europe has no legislative power and its recommendations, guidelines and declarations serve as “soft law”. Yet, by signing conventions, states recognise their value and are bound to abide by the principles spelled out in such international treaties. It is this collaborative, as opposed to adversarial, approach where the Council of Europe brings a unique value to the field of protecting artistic freedom.

The most well known of the Council of Europe’s treaties is the European Convention on Human Rights, the key rights mechanism within Europe protecting the rights of people within the countries that are members of the Council of Europe. As for the United Nations rights conventions, it refers to and adds to the protections within the 1948 UN Declaration on Human Rights, key among them the right to freedom of expression. Complaints about breaches of the Convention can be brought before the European Court of Human Rights (the “Court”) and if the Court finds that a state has violated these rights, they are required to provide redress and compensation (see also below). The key Convention article relevant to artistic freedom is Article 10 that protects the freedom of expression: