Museum of Dissidence’s Luis Manuel Otero Alcantara arrested on 21 July 2017
From the outside, we could be forgiven for thinking the Cuban art scene is thriving. Demand for Cuban art is high among international collectors while Cuban artists — at least those the state approves of — enjoy a privileged position in society. However, those without state accreditation don’t tend to experience such visibility and recognition. For them, creating without arousing the suspicion of the authorities is a struggle.
The Cuban art collective the Museum of Dissidence, which won the Index on Censorship Freedom of Expression Awards Fellowship for Arts in April 2018, is supporting a new generation of artists in order to challenge this status quo. For their efforts they have been quite publicly punished by the state, but their list of successes is growing every step of the way.
Cuban authorities arrested artists Yanelyz Nuñez and Luis Manuel Otero Alcantara, members of the Museum of Dissidence, from Otero Alcantara’s home early on the morning of Saturday 11 August for their role in organising a concert against Decree 349, a vague law that will give the government more control over the display and exchange of art. The law, due to come into force on 1 December 2018, gives the Ministry of Culture increased power to censor, issue fines and confiscate materials for work they don’t approve of. During the hours the pair spent in prison, when they were beaten and interrogated, their families and friends did not know where they were, and the authorities denied any knowledge of what had happened to them.
The arrests have had the unintended consequence of raising awareness of the campaign against the law. Upon release, Otero Alcantara has always been defiant, writing on 11 August: “Tomorrow we will continue the fight against the Degree 349.”
“We stand in solidarity with the brave artists and activists who, despite clear repression, stand up for fundamental human rights of Cubans,” Perla Hinojosa, fellowships and advocacy officer at Index on Censorship, said. “Arrests, violence and intimidation should never be responses to self-expression, and we call for such acts of censorship to stop. Any law that makes art a crime is unjust and we urge our supporters to sign the petition against Decree 349.”
“We belong to a generation that wants urgent improvements,” Otero Alcantara tells Index on Censorship. “A generation that, although it has no political culture, knows what it wants. We want to rebuild Cuba, but change will not be easy.”
Cuban artist Yasser Castellanos at #00Bienal de la Habana
As part of their mission to change the country, Nuñez and Otero Alcantara helped organise the ten-day #00Bienal de la Habana, which included over 170 artists, writers, musicians and theorists across nine different exhibitions in artists’ homes and studios around the country’s capital. It was Cuba’s first non-state sanctioned art biennial. Nuñez says its independence led to it being “persecuted by the Cuban state,” but added that its success nonetheless “exceeded our expectations”.
“From the beginning, we wanted to create an event that had a real and forceful impact inside the island, but at times we questioned the power of the art in transforming things,” she says. “But we were satisfied with the results — they helped us to recover our faith in Cuba, in art and Cubans.”
“The impact was so strong that we have heard that in cultural institution meetings, creators and journalists who are typically critical of what we do, have spoken favourably of the biennial,” says Otero Alcantara.
The influence has not stopped at Cuba’s shores, with Cuba’s diaspora looking on. “Many of them have shown us admiration for what we do in Cuba,” Otero Alcantara says. “We even plan to collaborate with many of them, while there are others we have already worked with.”
“The connection between Cubans of the diaspora and those who live inside is getting greater each day, and has increased with what internet the regime allows and a common interest in the country’s rich cultural history,” Nuñez says.
Life for those artists who are critical of the regime can be volatile, and even dangerous. When asked if their treatment ever makes them feel like joining the Cuban diaspora overseas, the pair stands firm.
“Cuba is my birthplace and my homeland. It’s like my house, where I should be able to walk naked from the living room to the kitchen without problems,” Otero Alcantara says. “As long as the forces don’t get me, I will fight for change and to improve my Cubanness.”
For Nuñez, meeting Cuban artists like Amaury Pacheco and Iris Ruiz has encouraged her to stay. “We are such a rich country and we have so much to offer that in some way that helps me stay,” she says. “The projects that I have been involved in recent years have excited me a lot.”
Perla Hinojosa, Fellowship and Advocacy Officer at Index on Censorship, holds the 2018 Freedom of Expression Arts Award for Cuban arts collective Museum of Dissidence, who could not attend the Freedom of Expression Awards. (Photo: Index on Censorship)
Winning the Index on Censorship award, Nuñez explains, has helped them in their work, increasing visibility and opening them up to collaborations with the likes of Artists at Risk Connection, a New York-based organisation that provides residencies for artists in extremely difficult situations. “Given the levels of disconnection in Cuba, these relationships with international organisations and activist movements in favour of freedom of expression, have clear and immediate benefits.”
“This type of exchange contributes to our professional improvement, something so necessary for every creator,” she says.
They hope to travel to the UK in October to spend time with Index on Censorship and take part in an art residency at Metal Culture. In November they will attend the Creative Time Summit in Miami.
“To be involved in different artistic experiences, activism and the debate about Cuban reality internationally will not only help visibility of our and other projects by independent organisations that are carried out in Cuba in the contemporary world but will contribute to dismantling the image of a government that continues to repress with impunity all who criticise or oppose it,” Nuñez says.
The increased attention hasn’t always been positive, however. “We feel that persecution has become stronger, something that was already accentuated by the work the precedes us and that we continue to do,” Otero Alcantara says.
“It’s a very peculiar moment in Cuban history: Fidel Castro’s generation is dying, the utopia of building the New Man is only visible in the school books. The Cuban, even if he does not want to know about politics, he does not want to go back to a ‘special period’ without water, without electricity, without food, without clothes,” he adds. “This context becomes more vulnerable with the incoming government, that’s why we must fight with all our strength, to demand the freedoms and rights that the Cuban deserves; and for this reason all platforms are indispensable.”
What remains is to continue working. “Right now we are engaged in a campaign against Degree 349 that makes art an offence,” Otero Alcantara says. “We must mobilise the artists and let them see how damaging this law will be for everyone, and the support of artists internationally will greatly help our cause.”
To be successful, they will have to leave their comfort zone, Nuñez says. “We must be aware that the world is built by people like us, not any government, that will make the system end up fracturing completely, as it no longer has the support of more than 60 years ago, no matter how hard they try to simulate in official speeches and marches.”[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_basic_grid post_type=”post” max_items=”4″ element_width=”6″ grid_id=”vc_gid:1534853032357-5b1cf1d0-b959-3″ taxonomies=”7874″][/vc_column][/vc_row]
[vc_row][vc_column][vc_media_grid grid_id=”vc_gid:1533806465014-9fa23910-6976-8″ include=”101950,101948,101949,101952,101947,101951″][vc_column_text]To an outsider, the most startling part of artist Luis Manuel Otero Alcántara’s arrest on 21 July for attempting to protest on the Capitol steps in Havana was the passivity, bordering on fearful ignorance, of his fellow Cubans at the scene. When he shouted and resisted, there was no response. When officers forced his head back to get him into the car, no one batted an eye.
Such is a reality Otero Alcántara and Yanelyz Nuñez, founders of the 2018 Index award-winning Museum of Dissidence, and the independent art community are working to change for the millions of Cubans whose freedom of expression remains severely constrained in the post-Castro era. Describing the challenges modern Cuba faces, Alcántara and Nuñez said “there are two political extremes that fail to dialogue and, in the background, that people are confused, apathetic, saturated with politics, and repressed by fear.”
As Index fellowships and advocacy officer Perla Hinojosa says, “When your freedoms are limited for so long, it becomes natural that when you try to express yourself in a different manner, you are stopped by authorities, so I’m assuming that the Cuban people are desensitised.”
By covering themselves in excrement and demanding “free art,” the artists planned to emphasise that “independent artists are shit for the Cuban state” as Otero Alcántara said after two days’ imprisonment and beatings. He added that they are portrayed as dissidents and lack a platform to engage with the public, much less the government, on legislation like Decree 349, a harsh new law allowing the government to sanction what art can be displayed or exchanged in private settings. Otero Alcántara believes it is “a very clear response” to the Museum of Dissidence’s independent art biennial, held in May despite government attempts to derail it.
While only Nuñez could carry out the protest and demand a meeting with the minister of culture regarding Decree 349, in its aftermath, the artists catalysed a movement of peaceful resistance, digital campaigning and public dialogue to draw national attention to the law and culture of artistic censorship in Cuba. Nuñez, Otero Alcántara and Amaury Pacheco and Iris Ruiz, who were also arrested, have taken the protest to social media, using the hashtags #NOALDECRETOLEY349 (#NOTODECREELAW349) and #artelibre (#freeart) on their Facebook page representing Cuba’s independent artists.
Pacheco is assembling a gallery of Cuban and international artists endorsing the campaign’s phrase: “together we can… no to Decree 349, the law that converts art into a crime.” Featured visual and performing artists like Damián Valdéz Dilla and René Rodríguez tell Cubans that “you are stronger than you think” and “don’t count the days… make sure your days count.” Such messages serve to invigorate a nation with a culture deeply rooted in the suppression of unsanctioned ideas. In his profile, Otero Alcántara encourages the public to “dream when reality tires us, to return to reality when dreaming tires us.”
Hinojosa believes “that this work embodies what meaningful activism against censorship looks like. You can be arrested and threatened but you know you have rights and are willing to stand up for them. They are creating dialogue around the issue for the betterment of themselves and their communities.”
Apart from digital activism, the artists are hosting a public debate in the first week of August. The participating independent artists and journalists have raised concerns that Decree 349 offers a “large margin of action for Cuban censors.” Their objective is to include artists from Cuba and the international community in the conversation and propose a cultural policy that is more considerate of artistic expression. Alcántara and Nuñez believe that “We belong to a generation that wants urgent improvements. A generation that, although it has no political culture, knows what it wants.”
Hinojosa says “Index aims to amplify fellows’ work so that it doesn’t go unseen and provide international support for their activism. This is essential to pressure the government and create dialogue with the community, to tell the Cuban people that it is important to speak out.”
Do you agree with the Museum of Dissidence that artists in Cuba should not be criminalised for their work? If so, please sign their petition against Decree 349.[/vc_column_text][vc_video link=”https://youtu.be/-6JnYDCLKIE”][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column width=”1/4″][vc_column_text]
Index encourages an environment in which artists and arts organisations can challenge the status quo, speak out on sensitive issues and tackle taboos.
Index currently runs workshops in the UK, publishes case studies about artistic censorship, and has produced guidance for artists on laws related to artistic freedom in England and Wales.
Index works with the winners of the Freedom of Expression Awards Fellowship to help them achieve goals through a 12-month programme of capacity building, coaching and strategic support.
Through the fellowships, Index seeks to maximise the impact and sustainability of voices at the forefront of pushing back censorship worldwide.
Learn more about the Freedom of Expression Awards Fellowship.[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_basic_grid post_type=”post” max_items=”4″ style=”load-more” items_per_page=”4″ element_width=”6″ grid_id=”vc_gid:1533806465027-3ff50ed2-b280-7″ taxonomies=”7874, 23772″][/vc_column][/vc_row]
Update: Since publishing this article, Index on Censorship has been informed that Luis Manuel Otero Alcántara has also been released, having spent two nights in prison. He said that during hisdetention he was hit so hard “as if to break the spine“.
The plan was clear: cover yourself with excrement, hold a sign demanding “Free art. No to decree 349” and be visible. But on the afternoon of Saturday 21 July, only Yanelyz Nuñez stood on the steps of the National Capitol Building in Havana, her body smeared with human faeces and her eyebrows furrowed in anger over the arrest of her colleagues for protesting against new legislation restricting the private display of art without government approval. The law threatens fines, raids and the loss of licenses for self-employed workers who solicit artists that lack approval from the Ministry of Culture.
Among those arrested for protesting were artists Amaury Pacheco, Soandry del Río, Iris Ruiz andLuis Manuel Otero Alcántara. Otero Alcántara and Nuñez are the founders of Cuba’s Museum of Dissidence, a website and public art project that won Index’s 2018 Freedom of Expression Arts Award. The Museum of Dissidence works to reclaim the meaning of the word “dissidence” and support a new generation of artists dedicated to empowering marginalised communities, challenging repression and defending freedom of expression.
All of those arrested were accused of public disorder with Otero Alcántara facing an additional charge of aggression. All were released on the same day except Otero Alcántara who remains in detention. As Nuñez said on Facebook on 23 July, Otero Alcántara is expected to remain at the Vivac detention centre for five to six more days. After speaking with authorities she noted that “they did not talk to me at all about a trial or about what crime he was accused of”.
“Index denounces the arrest and continued detention of Luis Manuel Otero Alcántara for peacefully protesting in favour of free expression,” said Perla Hinojosa, fellowships and advocacy officer at Index on Censorship. “Despite the repercussions and lack of dialogue, the group’s actions were successful because if you have the government’s attention, you’re probably stirring something up in them that makes them feel threatened.”
On 22 July Otero Alcántara, Nuñez, Ruiz, Pacheco and Cuban artist Tania Bruguera published an open letter calling on the government institutions to engage in a dialogue with independent artists, seeking a voice in discussions on the cultural policy which so deeply concerns their line of work. On 23 July Nuñez delivered a legal writ to Havana’s Provincial Court demanding to know more about Otero Alcántara’s case within 72 hours.
In May 2018 Otero Alcántara and Nuñezorganised the first #00Bienal de la Habana, a ten-day independent art biennial including over 170 artists and creators from within and outside Cuba. For this, Otero Alcántara was imprisoned under the pretence of illegally possessing construction materials. The suppression of independent art has only worsened under Cuba’s new president, Miguel Díaz‑Canel, who succeeded Raúl Castro in April 2018. [/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_basic_grid post_type=”post” max_items=”4″ element_width=”6″ grid_id=”vc_gid:1532445359224-5021f869-3d4a-0″ taxonomies=”7874″][/vc_column][/vc_row]
Winners of the Freedom of Expression Awards Fellowship receive 12 months of capacity building, coaching and strategic support. Through the fellowships, Index seeks to maximise the impact and sustainability of voices at the forefront of pushing back censorship worldwide.
[/vc_column_text][/vc_column_inner][vc_column_inner width=”1/2″][vc_video link=”https://youtu.be/Qv66jpE3kuk” align=”center”][/vc_column_inner][/vc_row_inner][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row full_width=”stretch_row” css=”.vc_custom_1504188991311{background-color: #f2f2f2 !important;}”][vc_column][vc_tta_tabs color=”white” active_section=”1″][vc_tta_section title=”2019 Fellows” tab_id=”1554816605919-419ceeb9-dbd4″][vc_row_inner][vc_column_inner][vc_custom_heading text=”2019 Fellows” font_container=”tag:h2|text_align:center” use_theme_fonts=”yes”][vc_column_text]Selected from over 400 public nominations and a shortlist of 15, the 2019 Freedom of Expression Awards Fellows exemplify courage in the face of censorship. Learn more about the fellowship.[/vc_column_text][/vc_column_inner][/vc_row_inner][vc_row_inner][vc_column_inner width=”1/4″][vc_custom_heading text=”Arts” font_container=”tag:h4|text_align:center” use_theme_fonts=”yes”][vc_custom_heading text=”Zehra Doğan” font_container=”tag:h4|text_align:center” use_theme_fonts=”yes” link=”url:https%3A%2F%2Fwww.indexoncensorship.org%2F2019%2F04%2Farts-fellow-2019%2F|||”][vc_single_image image=”104529″ img_size=”full” onclick=”custom_link” link=”https://www.indexoncensorship.org/2019/04/arts-fellow-2019/”][/vc_column_inner][vc_column_inner width=”1/4″][vc_custom_heading text=”Campaigning” font_container=”tag:h4|text_align:center” use_theme_fonts=”yes”][vc_custom_heading text=”CRNI” font_container=”tag:h4|text_align:center” use_theme_fonts=”yes” link=”url:https%3A%2F%2Fwww.indexoncensorship.org%2F2019%2F04%2Fcampaigning-fellow-2019%2F|||”][vc_single_image image=”104518″ img_size=”full” onclick=”custom_link” link=”https://www.indexoncensorship.org/2019/04/campaigning-fellow-2019/”][vc_column_text]The 2019 Campaigning Award is supported by Mainframe[/vc_column_text][/vc_column_inner][vc_column_inner width=”1/4″][vc_custom_heading text=”Digital Activism” font_container=”tag:h4|text_align:center” use_theme_fonts=”yes”][vc_custom_heading text=”Fundación Karisma” font_container=”tag:h4|text_align:center” use_theme_fonts=”yes” link=”url:https%3A%2F%2Fwww.indexoncensorship.org%2F2019%2F04%2Fdigital-activism-fellow-2019%2F|||”][vc_single_image image=”104520″ img_size=”full” onclick=”custom_link” link=”https://www.indexoncensorship.org/2019/04/digital-activism-fellow-2019/”][vc_column_text]The 2019 Digital Activism Award is sponsored by Private Internet Access[/vc_column_text][/vc_column_inner][vc_column_inner width=”1/4″][vc_custom_heading text=”Journalism” font_container=”tag:h4|text_align:center” use_theme_fonts=”yes”][vc_custom_heading text=”Mimi Mefo” font_container=”tag:h4|text_align:center” use_theme_fonts=”yes” link=”url:https%3A%2F%2Fwww.indexoncensorship.org%2F2019%2F04%2Fjournalism-fellow-2019%2F|||”][vc_single_image image=”104523″ img_size=”full” onclick=”custom_link” link=”https://www.indexoncensorship.org/2019/04/journalism-fellow-2019/”][vc_column_text]Sponsored by Daily Mail and General Trust, Daily Mirror, France Medias Monde, News UK, Telegraph Media Group, Society of Editors[/vc_column_text][/vc_column_inner][/vc_row_inner][/vc_tta_section][vc_tta_section title=”2018 Fellows” tab_id=”1501506166658-bae3c112-ebd9″][vc_row_inner][vc_column_inner][vc_custom_heading text=”2018 Fellows” font_container=”tag:h2|text_align:center” use_theme_fonts=”yes”][vc_column_text]
Selected from over 400 public nominations and a shortlist of 16, the 2018 Freedom of Expression Awards Fellows exemplify courage in the face of censorship. Learn more about the fellowship.
[/vc_column_text][/vc_column_inner][/vc_row_inner][vc_row_inner][vc_column_inner width=”1/4″][vc_custom_heading text=”Arts” font_container=”tag:h4|text_align:center” use_theme_fonts=”yes” link=”url:https%3A%2F%2Fwww.indexoncensorship.org%2F2017%2F04%2Farts-fellow-2017%2F|||”][vc_custom_heading text=”Museum of Dissidence” font_container=”tag:h4|text_align:center” use_theme_fonts=”yes” link=”url:https%3A%2F%2Fwww.indexoncensorship.org%2F2018%2F04%2Farts-fellow-2018%2F|||”][vc_single_image image=”97994″ img_size=”full” alignment=”center” onclick=”custom_link” link=”https://www.indexoncensorship.org/2018/04/arts-fellow-2018/”][/vc_column_inner][vc_column_inner width=”1/4″][vc_custom_heading text=”Campaigning” font_container=”tag:h4|text_align:center” use_theme_fonts=”yes” link=”url:https%3A%2F%2Fwww.indexoncensorship.org%2F2017%2F04%2Farts-fellow-2017%2F|||”][vc_custom_heading text=”ECRF” font_container=”tag:h4|text_align:center” use_theme_fonts=”yes” link=”url:https%3A%2F%2Fwww.indexoncensorship.org%2F2018%2F04%2Fcampaigning-fellow-2018%2F|||”][vc_single_image image=”97988″ img_size=”full” alignment=”center” onclick=”custom_link” link=”https://www.indexoncensorship.org/2018/04/campaigning-fellow-2018/”][vc_column_text]The 2018 Campaigning Award is supported by Doughty Street Chambers[/vc_column_text][/vc_column_inner][vc_column_inner width=”1/4″][vc_custom_heading text=”Digital Activism” font_container=”tag:h4|text_align:center” use_theme_fonts=”yes” link=”url:https%3A%2F%2Fwww.indexoncensorship.org%2F2017%2F04%2Fdigital-activism-2017%2F|||”][vc_custom_heading text=”Habari RDC” font_container=”tag:h4|text_align:center” use_theme_fonts=”yes” link=”url:https%3A%2F%2Fwww.indexoncensorship.org%2F2018%2F04%2Fdigital-activism-2018%2F|||”][vc_single_image image=”97990″ img_size=”full” alignment=”center” onclick=”custom_link” link=”https://www.indexoncensorship.org/2018/04/digital-activism-2018/”][vc_column_text]The 2018 Digital Activism Award is sponsored by Private Internet Access[/vc_column_text][/vc_column_inner][vc_column_inner width=”1/4″][vc_custom_heading text=”Journalism” font_container=”tag:h4|text_align:center” use_theme_fonts=”yes” link=”url:https%3A%2F%2Fwww.indexoncensorship.org%2F2017%2F04%2Fjournalism-2017%2F|||”][vc_custom_heading text=”Wendy Funes” font_container=”tag:h4|text_align:center” use_theme_fonts=”yes” link=”url:https%3A%2F%2Fwww.indexoncensorship.org%2F2018%2F04%2Fjournalism-2018%2F|||”][vc_single_image image=”98000″ img_size=”full” alignment=”center” onclick=”custom_link” link=”https://www.indexoncensorship.org/2018/04/journalism-2018/”][vc_column_text]The 2018 Journalism Award is sponsored by Vice News[/vc_column_text][/vc_column_inner][/vc_row_inner][/vc_tta_section][vc_tta_section title=”2017 Fellows” tab_id=”1524472475785-d2464a89-c53e”][vc_row_inner][vc_column_inner][vc_custom_heading text=”2017 Fellows” font_container=”tag:h2|text_align:center” use_theme_fonts=”yes”][vc_column_text]
Selected from over 400 public nominations and a shortlist of 16, the 2017 Freedom of Expression Awards Fellows exemplify courage in the face of censorship. Learn more about the fellowship.
AWARDS GALA[/vc_column_text][/vc_column_inner][vc_column_inner width=”1/6″][vc_single_image image=”80949″ img_size=”full”][vc_column_text]APR 2020 – MAR 2021
AWARDS FELLOWSHIP[/vc_column_text][/vc_column_inner][/vc_row_inner][vc_empty_space][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row full_width=”stretch_row”][vc_column][vc_custom_heading text=”About the Awards Fellowship” font_container=”tag:h3|text_align:center” use_theme_fonts=”yes”][vc_row_inner equal_height=”yes” el_class=”awards-timeline-grid”][vc_column_inner width=”1/6″][vc_single_image image=”94804″ img_size=”full”][/vc_column_inner][vc_column_inner width=”1/6″][vc_column_text]One Full Year
Fellows receive 12 months of direct assistance, starting with an all-expenses-paid training week in London in April 2018.[/vc_column_text][/vc_column_inner][vc_column_inner width=”1/6″][vc_column_text]Survive
Index helps fellows build key partnerships, troubleshoot and receive expert support in multiple areas including digital security, strategy and communications.[/vc_column_text][/vc_column_inner][vc_column_inner width=”1/6″][vc_column_text]Thrive
Fellows work with Index and partners to identify and realise key strategic goals.[/vc_column_text][/vc_column_inner][vc_column_inner width=”1/6″][vc_column_text]Amplify
Index promotes news and regional developments through our magazine, website and social media.[/vc_column_text][/vc_column_inner][vc_column_inner width=”1/6″][vc_column_text]Network
Fellows become part of a supportive community of free expression champions worldwide.[/vc_column_text][/vc_column_inner][/vc_row_inner][vc_custom_heading text=”What we look for in selecting Awards Fellows” font_container=”tag:h3|text_align:center” use_theme_fonts=”yes”][vc_row_inner equal_height=”yes” el_class=”awards-timeline-grid”][vc_column_inner width=”1/6″][vc_single_image image=”94805″ img_size=”full”][/vc_column_inner][vc_column_inner width=”1/6″][vc_column_text]Timeliness
A significant contribution within the past 12 months.[/vc_column_text][/vc_column_inner][vc_column_inner width=”1/6″][vc_column_text]Resilience
Courage to speak out, persisting in the face of adversity.[/vc_column_text][/vc_column_inner][vc_column_inner width=”1/6″][vc_column_text]Innovation
Creative ways of promoting free expression or circumventing censorship.[/vc_column_text][/vc_column_inner][vc_column_inner width=”1/6″][vc_column_text]Impact
Evidence of shifting perceptions, influencing public or government opinion, contributing to legislative change.[/vc_column_text][/vc_column_inner][vc_column_inner width=”1/6″][vc_column_text]Need
Those cases where the 2018 Awards Fellowship can potentially add the most value.[/vc_column_text][/vc_column_inner][/vc_row_inner][vc_custom_heading text=”We award Fellowships in four categories” font_container=”tag:h3|text_align:center” use_theme_fonts=”yes”][vc_row_inner equal_height=”yes” el_class=”text_white”][vc_column_inner width=”1/4″ css=”.vc_custom_1501508115518{background-color: #cb3000 !important;}”][vc_custom_heading text=”Arts” font_container=”tag:h3|text_align:left” use_theme_fonts=”yes”][vc_column_text]for artists and arts producers whose work challenges repression and injustice and celebrates artistic free expression[/vc_column_text][/vc_column_inner][vc_column_inner width=”1/4″ css=”.vc_custom_1501508268476{background-color: #d98c00 !important;}”][vc_custom_heading text=”Campaigning” font_container=”tag:h3|text_align:left” use_theme_fonts=”yes”][vc_column_text]for activists and campaigners who have had a marked impact in fighting censorship and promoting freedom of expression[/vc_column_text][/vc_column_inner][vc_column_inner width=”1/4″ css=”.vc_custom_1501508309950{background-color: #cb3000 !important;}”][vc_custom_heading text=”Digital Activism” font_container=”tag:h3|text_align:left” use_theme_fonts=”yes”][vc_column_text]for innovative uses of technology to circumvent censorship and enable free and independent exchange of information[/vc_column_text][/vc_column_inner][vc_column_inner width=”1/4″ css=”.vc_custom_1501508333043{background-color: #d98c00 !important;}”][vc_custom_heading text=”Journalism” font_container=”tag:h3|text_align:left” use_theme_fonts=”yes”][vc_column_text]for courageous, high-impact and determined journalism that exposes censorship and threats to free expression[/vc_column_text][/vc_column_inner][/vc_row_inner][vc_empty_space height=”15px”][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_separator color=”black”][vc_row_inner equal_height=”yes”][vc_column_inner width=”1/2″][vc_custom_heading text=”Support the Index Awards.” font_container=”tag:p|font_size:28|text_align:center” use_theme_fonts=”yes” link=”url:https%3A%2F%2Fwww.indexoncensorship.org%2Fsupport-the-freedom-of-expression-awards%2F|||”][vc_column_text]
