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to create
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ACN Performance: About My Mother | Feb 14
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ACN Exhibition: Encapsulate In Transcendence
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AFI Named Global Pluralism Award Laureate
Learn moreOur mission is to protect, promote, and foster freedom of artistic expression.
Led by immigration and human rights attorneys, Artistic Freedom Initiative (AFI) facilitates pro bono immigration representation and resettlement assistance for international artists who are persecuted or censored.
Who we areWhat We Do
Our programs are designed to directly assist artists whose freedom of expression has been restricted, support artists who have demonstrated a commitment to advancing positive social change and fundamental human rights, and improve the laws, policies, and systems that shape artists’ lives and work.
Legal Services
Artistic Freedom Initiative provides wide-ranging support for persecuted or censored artists, including pro bono immigration representation for artists at risk who wish to travel or immigrate to the United States to pursue their creative endeavors. AFI’s in-house legal team and network of pro bono attorneys assist with talent-based visas, performance visas, cultural exchange visas, asylum petitions and refugee status for artists facing persecution or censorship in their home countries.
Legal Services
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Resettlement Assistance
In addition to providing free legal services, Artistic Freedom Initiative takes a holistic approach to supporting artists, leading up to and following their arrival in the United States. To facilitate our artists’ resettlement, AFI obtains work authorizations for at risk artists. Further, AFI aids our artists in finding temporary housing and studio space, and matches them with employment, internship, education, residency, fellowship, and networking opportunities.
Resettlement Assistance
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Artists for Social Change
Designed to promote the work of artists who have dedicated themselves to advancing positive social change and human rights, AFI curates and produces multidisciplinary events that showcase the work of at-risk artists. Further, AFI secures the entry of activist artists into the United States for the specific purpose of enabling those artists to exhibit, perform, screen or otherwise display their work in a free and safe environment.
Artists for Social Change
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Global Policy & Advocacy
As authoritarianism and militarized violence continue to endanger artistic communities across the globe, AFI’s commitment to improving conditions for artists in their home countries takes on new urgency. In response to concerted efforts by governments to suppress free and open artistic expression, AFI launched our Global Policy & Advocacy program in 2024 to focus on research, policy, and public engagement that strengthens protections for artists, cultural workers, and cultural institutions.
Global Policy & Advocacy
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ScrollAFI Makes a Difference
Since our founding in 2017, we have empowered thousands of artists at risk through pro bono immigration representation, resettlement assistance, public programs, and advocacy.
For individual artists, this holistic support means safety, stability, and the ability to continue creating and sharing their work. These outcomes generate ripple effects that enrich communities, foster cultural exchange, and advance artistic freedom as a fundamental human right. AFI’s impact extends beyond individual cases, contributing to a more just and vibrant global cultural ecosystem.
$6.5 M
Provided $6.5 million in direct pro bono assistance across our programs since inception.
4,400+
Supported 4,400 at-risk artists and their dependent family members since AFI’s founding.
60+
Artists in AFI’s network come from 60+ countries around the world.
40+
AFI artists work across 40+ creative disciplines.
280+ Months
Provided 280+ months of fully funded residency placements for artists at risk.
$800K
Partnered with 10 universities and arts institutions to co-create 15 fellowships for at-risk artists, providing over $800k in stipend support.
50+
Produced 50+ multidisciplinary arts festivals, concerts, exhibitions, and events showcasing at-risk artists’ work.
6
Published 6 reports on threats to freedom of expression around the world.
7
Filed 7 submissions to the Universal Periodic Review at the United Nations.
175+
Built a global network of 175+ partners who are committed to championing artistic freedom.
Apply for Assistance
Artistic Freedom Initiative is currently accepting applications from at-risk artists in the United States and around the world seeking temporary and permanent residence in the US. Additionally, for at-risk artists already located in the United States, AFI is accepting applications from artists who fear persecution in their home countries and are seeking asylum in the US.
Meet the Artists
Artists supported by AFI come from diverse corners of the globe, seeking safe spaces to create, perform, and share their work. By providing legal assistance, resettlement support, and opportunities to present their work to the public, we empower at-risk artists to rebuild stability, grow creatively, and thrive in new communities.
Faten Gaddes
Faten Gaddes is a French/Tunisian photographer who was Born in Tunisia in 1974.
Margarita Kuleva
Margarita Kuleva is an artist, researcher, and curator. She is based in New York and teaches at NYU Arts & Science and Steinhardt. In her research and art projects, she mainly uses ethnography, institutional interventions, and performance as methods.
Maryam Palizgir
Maryam Palizgir is a multidisciplinary Iranian artist and educator who lives and works in NYC.
Alejandro De La Guerra
Alejandro De La Guerra is a multidisciplinary artist who works on the aestheticization of power, collective memory, and monumental languages of public spaces.
Tara Asgar
Born and raised in Dhaka, Bangladesh, Tara Asgar (documented name Ali Asgar) is a multidisciplinary transgender (She/Her) artist, educator, and activist focusing on themes of gender and desire. Her early career and activism challenged conservative gender norms in Bangladesh, particularly concerning sexuality and eroticism.
Rashwan Abdelbaki
Rashwan Abdelbaki is a Syrian visual artist based in New York, and a former visual artist in residence with the New York City Artist Safe Haven Residency Program.
Felix Kaputu
Felix Kaputu was a former writer in residence of the New York Artist Safe Haven Residency Program.
Melody and Safoura Safavi
Abjeez is an Iranian-born, Sweden-raised sister duo (Safoura and Melody Safavi) who blend the golden age of Iranian pop with rock, reggae, ska, and flamenco. Founded in 2005 as a response to artistic repression, their multilingual, socially engaged music has become a global voice for resistance, love, and freedom, including the Green Movement anthem “Biyaa.”
Mehrnam Rastegari
Mehrnam Rastegari is a well-established Persian musician, award-winning film score composer, singer, violinist, and master Kamancheh player.
Meet Our 2025 Artist Community Network Cohort
Meet Nazanin Noroozi, 2025 ACN Community Artist Leader
Learn MoreMeet Achiro P. Olwoch, 2025 ACN Community Artist Leader
Learn MoreMeet Cansu Korkmaz, 2025 ACN Cohort Member
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Learn MoreMeet Yasmeen, 2025 ACN Cohort Member
Learn MoreSupport AFI’s Work
As censorship rises and artists are targeted for speaking truth to power, protecting creative voices has never been more urgent. Since 2017, AFI has supported over 2000 courageous artists who create even when it places them at risk. By making a contribution today, you expand our direct services and advocacy work to secure at-risk artists’ safety and stability, and provide them with the resources they need to remain on the front lines of creative resistance.