© Fredrik Elg - Safe Havens Conference 2023
Active since 2013, the annual Safe Havens conference has established itself as a key global network meeting between artists, activists, NGOs, lawyers and intergovernmental organisations, on topics related to artistic freedom and the support to artists, writers and other culture producers and academics who face threats, persecution and censorship – sometimes referred to as the Arts Rights Justice sector. coculture took part in the role of participant and speaker already to the editions of 2017, 2018, 2021, 2023.
The conference has its starting point from a human rights perspective and aims to be a meeting place for human rights defenders within the arts and academia as a way to make visible cultural operators. The conference is organised in a process of collaboration between different cultural operators and organisations, where the focus is directed on the connection between culture and human rights. Furthermore, the conference is a way to visualise the significant position of culture and academia in human rights advocacy and to share knowledge between cultural operators, scholars, and human rights and cultural organisations in this field.
The Lab category features emerging project concepts exploring future artistic possibilities. These sketches represent coculture's exploratory spirit, highlighting innovative ideas awaiting development.
While realization isn't guaranteed, this space invites viewers to envision the potential of transformative art and cultural narratives.