Safe Havens Freedom Talks (SH|FT) is a non-profit organisation dedicated to the protection and promotion of artists at risk and artistic freedom.
ABOUT
SH|FT provides open platforms for human rights defenders in the arts globally. It develops meeting places for various organisations, groups, institutions (non-governmental and state), individuals and artists who defend the rights of the persecuted creatives and academics.
By stimulating mutual development through collective partnership and encouraging international collaboration, SH|FT aims to promote a better view of the field in total and share the knowledge on matters such as shelter city initiatives, international campaigns, funding opportunities and access to legal advice.
SAFE HAVENS MEETINGS
Active since 2013, the annual Safe Havens Meetings has established itself as a key global network meeting between artists, activists, NGOs, lawyers and intergovernmental organisations, on topics related to artistic freedom and the support to artists, writers and other culture producers and academics who face threats, persecution and censorship – sometimes referred to as the Arts Rights Justice sector.
GARDEN SESSIONS
The Garden Sessions is a concept for community gatherings of the creative and cultural ecosystem. Initiated in 2023 by SH|FT, these sessions address needs and opportunities within the field and inspire solidarity in the arts. The sessions are intended to raise awareness of regional challenges and opportunities and to identify mechanisms to bring participants from the region into closer contact with each other and with the wider global community.
ROUTES OF RESISTANCE
SH|FT develops new means of disseminating knowledge on threats towards artistic freedom to highlight the actions taken by many artists, NGOs, and institutions around the world to protect the fundamental human right to free speech.
SH|FT is currently working on an exhibition based on an open-source archive which can be transformed into spatial solutions flexible to accommodate different needs and choices depending on the exhibition space and the possibility of updates and global interaction.
Photo credits: Mural by Renacho Melgar, Safe Havens Conference 2022, Mexico City Photo by Fredrik Elg
