Free Voices: Bringing together artists, activists and everyone passionate about artistic freedom of expression

Free Voices: The State of Artistic Freedom in 2026

This session offers a space to connect, exchange perspectives and engage in conversation across artistic and civic communities, with opportunities for networking and informal mingling.

Programme

Welcome
Gro Kvanvig, Programme Lead of Demokratiuka

The State of Artistic Freedom in 2026
Presentation of the Freemuse 2026 Report
Freemuse
by Sverre Pedersen, Director

Why Do We Care?
Introduction to the Kristiansand International Forum for Artistic Freedom
by Anne Kristin Undlien

Artistic Freedom in Practice – Voices from the Field
Reflections by Iryna Kozikava, Belarus PEN

Film Screening
The Girl Who Dances
A documentary by Parvana Guliyeva (Azerbaijan)
Presented in collaboration with Amnesty International

Conversation: Artistic Freedom in Practice
With Parvana Guliyeva and Netsai Maravo from Amnesty International

Following the screening, the conversation explores personal expression within social and cultural realities, and how lived experience shapes storytelling. Through her work, Guliyeva reflects on what it means to be a woman, an artist, and a filmmaker working under constraints—where silence, memory, and conflict often become part of the creative process.

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