Freedom of expression, cencorship & the arts

In these times of extreme polarisation and heated social media driven battles to control public narratives, the arts are a go-to target, attacked both from without and from within. In such an environment, it is important to defend the right of artistic freedom, to embrace the critical role that art has in driving public conversation. In our culture, the arts have long been used as a vehicle to explore unpopular, controversial and transgressive ideas: one of its chief roles has been to challenge, to question, to be thought provoking. But that right is not absolute, and the purpose of this project is to explore the limits of that freedom, to look at the arts’ role in furthering the democratic goal of a free and open marketplace of ideas. To do so, we are using recorded, semi-structured, collegial conversations between artists about their process and, particularly, the consideration they give to the effect of their art on public discourse and the limits and responsibilities, if any, that they impose upon themselves.

The Miller-Zillmer Foundation commissioned the musician and writer, Simon Bonney, to develop together with the Foundation a project on the effects of censorship (both state and non-state) on artists in the 21st century.

A central pillar of the project will be a series of conversational interviews with artists, journalists, and media industry professionals, the aim of which will be to unpack the effect of actual or potential censorship (including criminal prosecution) on their art and writings and to look at ways that artists can mitigate these risks (in whatever form) while maintaining their freedom of expression.

The project also aims to nurture the development of a safe and supportive multi-disciplinary forum for artists and writers to meet and exchange ideas with each other about censorship issues.