On an Island: Defending the Right to Create

Workshop

ON AN ISLAND: DEFENDING THE RIGHT TO CREATE

The Jewel Box, YoungArts, 2100 Biscayne Blvd | Transportation Options

“Living on an island makes us believe we are alone in everything that we do. To know that there’s someone, in any part of the world, that supports our struggle and that their dreams are close to ours, makes us feel safer, stronger and gives us hope.” – Nunez Leyva

Artists speak for all of us. Because of the power of their work, they often become targets in politically repressive environments. Join Julie Trebault, Director of the Artists at Risk Connection (ARC), for a workshop exploring the nuances of the right to “create/dissent” from the perspectives of persecuted Cuban artists Yanelys Nuñez Leyva and Luis Manuel Otero Alcántara, founders of El Museo de la Disidencia, and Alison Russo, Director of the Artist Protection Fund (APF), who leads efforts to provide relief and safe-havens for threatened artists through an extended residency program. Artists and cultural practitioners will learn how to develop strategies to overcome restrictions on freedom of expression and will be invited to join a community that protects artistic freedom.

Yanelys Nuñez Leyva is a Cuban curator, art historian, and a founder of The Museum of Dissidence in Cuba (Museo de la Disidencia en Cuba), a digital public art project that aims to reclaim the word “dissident” by hosting radical installations and opening political dialogues.

Luis Manuel Otero Alcántara is a Cuban artist and co-founder of The Museum of Dissidence in Cuba. Also with Nuñez Leyva, he leads the alternative #00Bienal de la Habana, which attracted intense scrutiny by authorities—and international solidarity.

Julie Trebault ,Director of PEN America’s Artists at Risk Connection (ARC). ARC aims to safeguard the right to artistic freedom of expression and to ensure that artists everywhere can work without fear. Designed as an interactive hub to gather and share the forms of assistance available, ARC strengthens connections between artists at risk and the organizations that support them. Prior to joining PEN, she served as Director of Public Programs at the Museum of the City of New York.

Alison Russo, Director of IIE’s Artist Protection Fund (APF). Alison joined IIE in 2015, having most recently curated and managed the Rockefeller Foundation Bellagio Center Programs, to design and develop the new APF Program. The APF fills a gap in assistance for threatened artists by exploring innovative ways to respond to the specific needs of these artists by constructing a comprehensive, collaborative and socially engaged program that stands as a leader in the artistic freedom and freedom of expression movements.