Creativity in the Context of Risk: the Impact of Digital Transnational Repression on Artistic Expression
In the Fall of 2022, the arrest and subsequent death of 22-year-old Mahsa Amini in Tehran sparked mass protests demanding greater freedoms and an end to repressive laws for women in Iran. Artists played a pivotal role in what became known as the “Women, Life, Freedom” movement. In Iranian diasporic...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Centro de Diseño, Cine y Television
2025-05-01
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| Series: | Economia Creativa |
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| Online Access: | https://ciecpress.centro.edu.mx/ojs/index.php/CentroTI/article/view/738 |
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| Summary: | In the Fall of 2022, the arrest and subsequent death of 22-year-old Mahsa Amini in Tehran sparked mass protests demanding greater freedoms and an end to repressive laws for women in Iran. Artists played a pivotal role in what became known as the “Women, Life, Freedom” movement. In Iranian diasporic communities around the world, artists amplified the voices of protestors through visual art, film, music, poetry, and performance, drawing global attention to the movement's demands for justice and freedom. In doing so, many of these artists took significant risks. The Iranian regime is known to reach across borders to stifle opposition using a broad range of techniques – from kidnapping, detention, and killing through to online tactics of harassment, surveillance, and threats, including threats to family members. And while more severe situations attract media and government attention, it is the “everyday” tactics, amounting to a “constant barrage of harassment, intimidation, and surveillance,” that leave many artists vulnerable, without support, and can lead to self-censorship (Schenkkan and Linzer, 2021, p. 37). These new tools of digital transnational repression are practical from the perspective of authoritarian states whose interest is to silence dissent. And artists are particularly vulnerable (Whyatt, 2023; United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization, 2023). This paper examines the recent tactics of digital transnational repression and their impact on artists, outlining the levers, tools, and resources that organizations and institutions supporting artists need to engage in order to protect the freedom of artistic expression, which is fundamental to democratic societies.
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| ISSN: | 2395-8200 |