Current
Art in Protest
Where art and human rights unite Art in Protest promotes artists from around the world who embody the spirit of creativity and dissent, and whose art is connected to their countries’ struggle for democracy and basic human rights. Art in Protest opens a dialogue about human rights and free expression and aims to bring to a diverse audience the work of artists who are making an impact in the global struggle against authoritarianism.The Gao Brothers
Gao Zhen and Gao Qiang have been on the vanguard of contemporary art in China, collaborating on painting, installation, performance, sculpture, photography, and writing since 1985, but it was not until 2003 that they were allowed to leave the PRC, after years on an official blacklist that barred them from...Song Byeok
Song Byeok was a state propaganda artist in North Korea until he escaped after famine killed his parents and sister. He has been based in South Korea since 2002, producing acrylic paintings that stylistically echo his earlier work but satirize the regime he was once forced to celebrate and often...Shamsia Hassani
Shamsia Hassani is a graffiti artist and muralist who was born in 1988 to Afghan parents in Tehran, Iran. Shamsia has experimented with many techniques in painting and created Afghanistan’s first 3D painting in 2014. She has been invited to different countries (including Italy, Norway, Denmark, Germany, Switzerland, Turkey, India,...Rodrigo Figueredo
Rodrigo Figueredo is an Italo-Venezuelan artist. Concerned with the social and political evolutions of world affairs, he has become one of the most relevant dissident artists in the world, defending human rights through his art. Along with artistically documenting current affairs in Venezuela, Rodrigo paints today’s world as it unfolds:...Zehra Dogan
Zehra Dogan is an award-winning Kurdish artist, journalist and author from Turkey. In 2017, she was sentenced to 2 years, 9 months and 22 days in prison for sharing a painting of hers on social media that depicts the destruction of Nusaybin, a town in southeastern Turkey. Dogan is an...In Pursuit of Freedom: A Collection of Global Protest Art
Art is a powerful form of nonviolent protest in any struggle for social or political change. For more than half of the world’s population living under authoritarian regimes, art provides an essential outlet for self-expression.Scroll down to see a selection of protest art inspired by major protest movements...Lilia Kvatsabaya
Lilia Kvatsabaya is a Belarusian illustrator and graphic designer based in Hawaii. Lilia was a student at the State Academy of Arts, but she had to interrupt her studies and relocate to the United States due to the political unrest in Belarus, following rigged elections in August 2020. In her...Badiucao
Badiucao is an exiled Chinese dissident artist based in Australia whose work spans political cartoons, installations, street art and performances. His art is renowned for denouncing human rights abuses and the suppression of free speech in China. His political engagement dates back to 2007 when he watched a documentary leaked...
