Artists at Risk (AR)

ARTISTS at RISK (AR) is a non-profit network institution at the intersection of human rights and the arts. AR is dedicated to mapping the field of persecuted art practitioners, facilitating their safe passage from their countries of origin, hosting them at AR-Residencies and curating related projects, including the AR Pavilion. Artists, writers, curators, critics and scholars are targets of politically motivated threats and persecution in great parts of the world. Perpetuum Mobile (PM) initiated Artists at Risk (AR) as a platform and network to support these art practitioners in times of need. This encompasses enabling their safe exit from countries of origin, the procurement of travel documents, providing legal assistance, and matching ARs with “AR-Residencies”. The AR-Network comprises a growing number of local nodes. Since 2013, it has created over 20 AR-Residencies for artists across 17 countries – from Finland, Germany and Spain to Tunisia and the Ivory Coast – offering temporary relocation for artists who face persecution or imprisonment for exercising their right to freedom of expression. The programme has assisted artists from Brazil, Syria, Vietnam, Egypt and Kenya, among many other countries. AR develops cooperation programmes with artist-in-residency centres, art/film/theatre unions, cities and human rights networks which help provide artists at risk a safe place of temporary relocation. Perpetuum Mobile (PM) also curates events, conferences and the dedicated “AR Pavilion” — recently at the Athens Biennale; as part of the parallel programme of the Instabul Biennale; at Matadero-Madrid; at Aufbau Haus Berlin and the Berlin Nordic Embassies; and in Helsinki — which showcases the artistic practices of AR-Residents. The European Parliament honoured Perpetuum Mobile with the CIVI EUROPAEO PRAEMIUM (the European Citizen’s Prize) for AR in 2016.