Bulgaria’s winter protests against a controversial 2026 budget and entrenched corruption have been driven not only by politics but by culture. Young demonstrators, many protesting for the first time, were mobilised by artists, musicians and digital influencers who turned posts into calls to action. From actors and pop stars on the streets to vloggers translating outrage into everyday language, culture became a key engine of collective action.
Iranian singer, Parastoo Ahmadi, 27, stages a bold hijab‑free “imaginary concert” in a historic caravanserai, livestreamed on YouTube with no physical audience but watched by thousands online. Performing in a sleeveless dress with uncovered hair alongside three male musicians, she directly challenges Iran’s bans on women singing publicly. Within 24 hours, the judiciary announces legal proceedings, turning one virtual show into a high‑stakes test of artistic freedom.
Poet and opposition leader Chaima Issa has become a central symbol of Tunisia’s shrinking civic space. Arrested on 29 November while joining a women’s rights protest in Tunis, she is now serving a 20‑year sentence in the politically driven “Conspiracy Case” and has launched a hunger strike from Manouba Prison, turning her body into a final form of protest against President Kais Saied’s escalating repression.
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As Uganda heads toward the 2026 elections, opposition‑aligned musicians are being drawn into an intensifying crackdown marked by arbitrary arrests, house‑arrest‑style sieges and shootings at rallies. From repeated cordons around Bobi Wine’s home to the arrest of Nubian Li and the shooting of Omukunja Atasera, the state is treating music as a security threat rather than a space for artistic expression
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As President Daniel Noboa attends the Nobel Peace Prize ceremony in Oslo, Ecuador’s cultural sector faces mounting pressure at home. From the cancellation of a political caricature exhibition in Quito to direct threats against an installation at the Bienal de Cuenca, artists are confronting censorship, intimidation and growing self-censorship. These cases unfold amid protest repression, media shutdowns and shrinking civic space.
Palestinian documentary filmmaker Abdallah Motan has been held in Israeli administrative detention since January 2025 without charges or trial. Known for his internationally recognized work, including Deferred Reclaim, Motan’s detention highlights the suppression of Palestinian cultural voices. Despite international calls for his release and solidarity screenings of his films, his status remains unconfirmed, raising urgent questions about freedom of expression and the rights of artists under occupation
In Western Sahara, art is not decoration but defiance. From refugee camps where film festivals replace embassies, to occupied cities where poems and cameras lead to prison, Sahrawi culture has become a frontline of resistance. Through music, poetry, cinema, and the bodies of activists themselves, a stateless people wages a powerful struggle for visibility, memory, and self-determination. Against walls, prisons, and exile, culture becomes both shield and weapon in a war fought with words, images, and sound.
As war escalated in Gaza after October 2023, Meta’s platforms became crucial spaces for documentation and solidarity. Yet investigations and leaks suggest a vast system of digital censorship targeting Palestinian and pro-Palestinian content, allegedly in close coordination with Israeli authorities. While platforms deny political bias, artists and activists across the Arab world are now developing creative strategies to evade algorithmic suppression and preserve their narratives.
In November 2025, the Fall of Freedom movement mobilized artists across more than 600 U.S. cities in one of the largest coordinated acts of creative resistance in modern history. Through performances, installations, readings, and public gatherings, artists confronted rising authoritarianism and threats to free expression. The movement highlighted art’s vital role in defending democratic values and resisting government interference in cultural institutions.
Indonesia in 2025 has witnessed a convergence of economic anxiety, anger over political privilege, and public outrage at police conduct. What began as protest against parliamentary allowances escalated into a nationwide wave of demonstrations — catalyzed by the death of a young ride-share driver struck by a police armoured vehicle. Alongside these developments, youth-driven visual and musical protest culture has flourished, even as authorities respond with censorship, confiscations, and pressure on cultural workers.
Traditional musician Abbas Peymani was arrested by Iran’s IRGC Intelligence in Shahriar after criticizing political and economic conditions on social media. Taken to an undisclosed location with no public charges, his fate remains unknown, raising fears of enforced disappearance. Rights monitors say the case reflects a wider crackdown on artists, where peaceful expression is treated as a security threat and cultural voices are silenced.
Iraqi singer Hussein Al-Turki says he was tricked into joining the Russian army after traveling to Moscow for what he believed was a performance contract. Regional outlets report he was moved far from the city, had his phone confiscated, and was pressured to sign documents he couldn’t read. While his account remains unverified, it reflects a broader pattern of foreign nationals being misled into military service.
Peru’s APCI law, strengthened by the September 2025 sanctions regulation, is raising alarms in the arts and culture sector. Artists, filmmakers, and cultural organizations warn of potential fines, project cancellations, and indirect censorship due to vague rules and prior-approval requirements. While no cultural institutions have yet been penalized, the law’s chilling effect is reshaping creative freedom, international collaborations, and civil society engagement in Peru.
Moroccan rapper Hamza Raid became a central figure in the Gen Z protests that swept Morocco in September 2025, demanding education and healthcare reforms. Raid was detained and charged with unauthorized assembly and incitement to protest, drawing wide attention from youth and rights groups. His case highlights the risks artist-activists face and Morocco's tense climate for artistic freedom while authorities pledge order and due process.
On October 27, 2025, Myanmar authorities detained a director, actor, and comedian under draconian new laws criminalizing criticism of the election slated for December. Their names remain unreleased by responsible media, highlighting wider dangers for artists. The move reflects an intensifying crackdown on creative expression and dissent as the regime gears up for a widely contested vote.
The arrest of journalist Mzia Amaglobeli has crystallised Georgia’s struggle over independent expression. Detained on 12 January 2025 during protests in Batumi after she slapped the local police chief, Amaglobeli was later convicted and sentenced to two years in prison — a move rights groups say fits a broader assault on media freedom. As she received the 2025 Sakharov Prize for Freedom of Thought, thousands of protesters took to the streets demanding her release, underscoring how cultural and journalistic voices have become frontline defenders in Georgia’s democratic crisis.
As Uganda prepares for the 2026 presidential election, opposition leader Bobi Wine faces off once again against long-serving President Yoweri Museveni in a battle that could redefine the nation’s future. With a campaign rooted in youth empowerment, democracy, and justice, Bobi Wine’s movement fuses music, activism, and political defiance—pitting generational change against entrenched power in one of Africa’s longest-running regimes.
Morocco’s Gen Z protests, ignited on September 27, 2025, have become the country’s largest youth-led uprising since the Arab Spring. Sparked by deaths linked to hospital failures, thousands have taken to the streets demanding healthcare, education, and job reforms. Facing violent crackdowns and arrests, young Moroccans are joined by artists and activists, turning creativity into resistance and calling for a new social contract.
In September and October 2025, Madagascar’s youth ignited a historic uprising blending art, activism, and digital mobilization. Known as the Gen Z Madagascar movement, it united online creativity with civic resistance against corruption, inequality, and state repression. Through memes, music, and visual art, young protesters turned cultural expression into a force for democratic transformation.
More than 150 cultural institutions across the United States have issued a joint appeal against mounting political interference and censorship, warning that artistic and intellectual freedom are at risk. Led by the National Coalition Against Censorship and the Vera List Center, the statement calls for solidarity and courage as funding cuts and government intervention threaten the independence of museums, theatres, and cultural organizations nationwide.
