“Artists are often the seismographs of the current times, who sense the changes in society at the forefront.”
AR co-director Marita Muukkonen was interviewed by Riina Rastas for Maailman Kuvalehti about the worsened human rights situation of artists worldwide.
Marita brought up that this is, for example, the result of the situation in Ukraine, Palestine, Sudan, Afghanistan, and the Democratic Republic of Congo escalating in the last few years. The position of women and queer artists is especially dire in a lot of places globally.
The poor human rights situation of artists is showing in Artists at Risk (AR)’s work as growing numbers of applicants seeking for help and protection, Marita described. She also expressed that even in Finland, the situation has gotten worse due to the significant government cuts to the cultural sector––also threatening the UN Universal Declaration of Human Rights article on the right to enjoy and participate in arts and culture.
Thank you to Maailman Kuvalehti and Riina Rastas!
The interview is available in Finnish and is linked in our bio.
