Publications

An Exercise in Sitting with Discomfort

An Exercise in Sitting with Discomfort. Towards more equitable support for relocation in North-South contexts, 2022 

This report aims to propose strategies of designing, managing and implementing relocation programmes with the goal of establishing a more equitable model that is more aware of power dynamics and incorporates anti-discriminatory approaches. It targets decision-makers and teams in temporary international relocation initiatives and is centred on the experiences and needs of relocated artists. 

Summary (EN)

Full report (EN)

Learning from the Pandemic

Learning from the Pandemic: Artistic Freedom & Mobility Beyond the Covid-19 Crisis, 2022

This report explores, how to maintain spaces of artistic freedom in a world transformed by Covid-19. It provides the perspectives of vulnerable, marginalized, or persecuted artists, and the strategies they used to cope with the challenges of the pandemic. 

Summary (EN), Summary (Turkish) 

Full report (EN) 

Relocating Artists at Risk in Latin America

Relocating Artists at Risk in Latin America, 2021 

The study examines the strategies necessary to foster collaboration between artistic institutions and human rights organizations in the region, in order to provide greater protection to artists at risk, and promote freedom of artistic expression. 

Summary (EN), Summary (Spanish) 

Full report (EN), Full report (Spanish) 

African Artists at Risk

African Artists at Risk. Opportunities for Temporary Shelter and Relocation, 2021

Threats to both creativity and freedom of expression are on the rise globally, with Africa as no exception. Artists, journalists and human rights defenders are seeking out safer locations in order to escape harm. However, the support systems currently in place predominantly relocate at-risk African artists to Europe and North America, which poses an additional set of challenges. This report investigates the successes and challenges of developing temporary shelter and relocation initiatives based in Africa. 

Summary (EN) 

Full report (EN) 

What comes after relocation?

What comes after relocation? A comic about safe return and its alternatives, 2021 

This is a comic for people from civil society – artists, activists, journalists, human rights defenders, and others – who decided to temporarily leave their home country due to threats and persecution. 

English 

Spanish 

French 

Wellbeing During Temporary International Relocation

Wellbeing During Temporary International Relocation. Case Studies and Good Practices for the Implementation of the 2019 Barcelona Guidelines, 2020 

In 2019, a group of professionals and experts developed the “Barcelona Guidelines on Wellbeing and Temporary International Relocation of Human Rights Defenders at Risk”. The Guidelines frame principles about a collective approach to wellbeing and thus provide guidance for coordinators of temporary international relocation initiatives as well as for wellbeing support providers. The following collection of good practices and case studies aims to complement the principles of the Guidelines and to help put specific recommendations and cross-cutting issues of the Guidelines into practice. 

Full report (EN) 

Animiertes Video zu "Wellbeing of Civil Society Actors in International Relocation" (2020)

Collaboration Between Temporary Relocation Initiatives

Collaboration Between Temporary Relocation Initiatives: Potentials, Challenges and Next Steps, 2020 

More systematic collaboration between temporary international relocation initiatives is necessary to guarantee, that persecuted civil society actors will be provided with protective relocation in the safest and most effective way. This study identifies conditions and next steps for a more formal and structural collaboration of existing and developing initiatives. 

Full report (EN) 

Relocation Initiatives and Their Impact on Home Communities

Relocation Initiatives and Their Impact on Home Communities: Case Study of Kenyan Human Rights Defenders, 2020 

This study  sheds light on the impact temporary relocation programmes have on their participants'  communities of origin. Which positive or negative effects do such programmes have on the communities of origin? What are the experiences of the participants' local institutions, work colleagues and families? Given the active scene of human rights defenders in Kenya, who benefited from existing relocation programmes, this case study focuses on the impact in the Kenyan context. 

Full report (EN) 

The Challenges of Safe Return

The Challenges of Safe Return. Supporting Civil Society Actors After Temporary Relocation, 2020 

For participants in temporary international relocation programmes, safe return is a key challenge. How can threatened civil society actors make an informed decision on whether return to their home countries or prior work locations can be safe? Which mechanisms can host programmes include from the beginning to plan for return, and to assess the conditions for return? This study identifies challenges and best practices for planning safe return and gives recommendations, how to support civil society actors in their decision-making and planning life after relocation. 

Full report (EN) 

Temporary Shelter and Relocation Initiatives

Temporary Shelter and Relocation Initiatives. Perspectives of Managers and Participants, 2019 

Shrinking civic spaces are more and more to be traced. Many groups such as human rights activists and artists are affected, and the declining of pre-political spaces takes many forms. To assist these activists, protection programmes have been developed in recent years. This study examines protection programmes from different angles in order to formulate the challenges of these initiatives and to seek solutions for an increasing effectiveness in future programmes. 

Full report (EN) 

Podcast

"¡El Arte no Calla!” is a Spanish-language podcast of the Artists at Risk Connection (ARC), that explores art, freedom of expression, and human rights in Latin America. 

Episode 9 “Relocation of Artists at Risk in Latin America” was developed in cooperation with the Martin Roth-Initiative. This episode hosts Laurence Cuny, the author of the study “Relocating Artists at Risk in Latin America” published by the MRI.