Issue 1. March 2025

Freedom of Expression: Why is Power So Afraid of Art?

Arundhati Roy once said during an interview that real art does not emerge from those consumed by hatred and violence, for they are too occupied with destruction to create. Instead, art—and since art can be understood in many ways, we will refer to the kind of art that falls under the concept of activist art—emerges from resistance, from those who refuse to submit to the machinery of war, capitalism, and oppression. It is an act of defiance, a refusal to accept an unjust world as it is. Art carries the weight of history, the wounds of the present, and the blueprints of what could be. In a time when division is used as a weapon of control, art remains one of the few forces that can cultivate the one thing that unsettles power—empathy.



The right to express oneself, to share ideas, to question authority, and to demand a better world is the foundation of any just society. It is a right that, in theory, belongs to all. And yet, in practice, it is a privilege granted selectively. Artists, writers, and journalists are often the first to suffer when freedom of expression is threatened because their work has the power to provoke, awaken, and challenge those in power. As a result, governments imprison individuals simply for speaking up or make their lives unbearable through harassment, exile, or worse. Even in nations that claim to uphold ‘democratic’ values, voices that challenge the status quo are systematically silenced (see Khalid Albaih article “The West has been in denial about censorship for far too long” featured in this issue).



The way governments tolerate critical voices is a telling measure of their respect for human rights. When authorities view dissent as a crime, it is not only the individual who suffers but society as a whole. Throughout (his)tory, countless artists and intellectuals have faced persecution for their work. Recent examples include: writer Arundhati Roy, whom we mentioned earlier, targeted for her outspoken views on political and social issues in India; Chinese artist Ai Weiwei, who remains exiled in Europe, after being harassed and detained for his criticism of the Chinese government; the Indonesian artist collective Taring Padi, faced backlash at Documenta 15 in 2022 in Germany when their artwork was accused of containing antisemitic content, leading to censorship and the removal of their work; Cuban poet and activist María Cristina Garrido Rodríguez was imprisoned for her participation in the July 2021 protests against government repression; Iranian artists and activists continue to be punished for defying oppressive laws, such as filmmaker Mahnaz Mohammadi, who has been jailed for advocating women’s rights; between October 2023 and February 2024 alone, the Palestinian Ministry of Culture reported the loss of 45 artists, writers, and cultural activists, including poet Refaat Alareer, a leading literary voice from Gaza, who was killed in an Israeli airstrike in December 2023. The list continues to grow.

Why is power so deeply fixated on artists? Because art, in all its forms, have the potential to disrupt, to offer alternative narratives, to challenge official (his)tories, to expose the contradictions of the powerful. Artists can be the agents to create spaces for resistance, and make people feel, think, and, ultimately, act.

 Their potential role in society is not just to reflect the world but to intervene in it. And for this reason, authoritarian regimes—and even the so-called democratic ones—seek to control them. When governments dictate what can and cannot be said, when they surveil and intimidate artists into silence, they are not just censoring individuals; they are controlling thought itself.



This is especially evident today on social media. Platforms controlled by influential billionaires like Musk, Zuckerberg, and others are shaping global ideologies and conversations, normalizing extremism, and influencing the political landscape through selective censorship—ironically, under the guise of ‘free speech.’ The same figures who hold immense economic power now control what information is amplified, suppressed, and ultimately, which ideologies become mainstream. This strategic manipulation of public perception has real-world consequences and fosters a climate of uncertainty and helplessness. But that is precisely the goal, to stiftle resistance. Yet, the solution does not come by retreating into silence, but by resisting through collective action and critical thinking. [1] 

In a world fractured by polarization, collective action may seem difficult. Yet true dialogue does not require agreement—it requires the willingness to listen. As Audre Lorde claims “it is not our differences that divide us. It is our inability to recognize, accept, and celebrate those differences." Art is the medium through which we can share the multiple perspectives of our many controversial and changing realities in affective ways. Creating spaces to disagree, express, and challenge is essential to forming coalitions and new modes of relationality—something that requires a lot of work, as well as love and care.[2] In a world where control thrives on division and selective censorship, art remains a force that unsettles, disrupts, and reimagines. 

This introduction does not naively claim that art alone can save the world. However, if we look at the history of activist and revolutionary movements, we see that all of them have involved some degree of creativity, whether or not it was formally recognized as art. From symbols, slogans, and resistance banners to music, poetry, and evocative performances that have united people, creativity has always been at the heart of change. These movements not only challenged the status quo through action, but also through new ways of thinking, feeling, and imagining what is possible. With this issue, we invite you to engage with diverse perspectives on the theme "Freedom of Expression: Why is Power So Afraid of Art?", to question, to feel, and most importantly, to remember that the struggle for freedom of expression is a struggle for all of us.

Political Art