Attacks on artistic freedom

As many of you must have noticed, the organization Freemuse just published its report on artistic freedom for 2026, and although I will not pretend to have read it all, I did read the preface.

What we increasingly see is that attacks on artistic freedom are no longer, mostly, of broader political developments that affect the foundations of democratic societies.

Laws, funding decisions, institutional pressure and public intimidation are narrowing the space for artistic expression across entire cultural ecosystems.

Given the grave political situation in so many parts of the world and in Europe, focusing on the Norwegian situation may almost seem unnecessary. We have a great funding system for independent performing arts. We have a strong infrastructure for the dissemination of independent work, with several programming theatres[FN1]  and festivals all over the country, and we have networks for international exchange.

Despite the success of Norwegian independent performing arts, and the success of the cultural policy that has sustained this field over decades, the public discourse around this field has become increasingly contested and polarized.

Freemuse mentions four parameters as narrowing the space for artistic expression in democratic societies: Laws, funding decisions, institutional pressure and public intimidation.

Apart from one very famous case in which all four parameters were put into play – I’m speaking of the case of Ways of Seeing case in 2018 and 2019, in which three artists and one artistic director werewas put under immense legal, financial and institutional pressure due to the content of their work., Wwe do not usually see such public censorship of art in Norway[FN2] .

When it comes to the fourth parameter – public intimidation – the case has been quite the opposite. For oOver about a a decade or so, online platforms have targeted independent artists with slander, ridicule and ragebait for several hundreds of thousands of readers, via Norwegian mainstream channels, leading to some of these artists being publicly defamed with full name and image on websites such as Sputnik News – the Russian state-controlled propaganda site and Daily Stormer – the leading Neo Nazi-platform in the United States. 

And despite the strong[FN3]  funding and strong infrastructure for independent performing arts in Norway, artists have been left very much alone in countering this public intimidation campaigns. And when targeted artists self-organized in countering these intimidation campaigns, they were met with harsh criticism from governmental bodies, politicians, and media outlets from all acrossover the political spectrum.

Artists were accused of no-platforming, censorship, and for attacking the principle of freedom of expression. And with a few exceptions – acting culture minster Abid Raja was one of them – not many people stood up for them. And many otherspeople stood against them.

The result has been a very polarized public discourse around independent performing arts, and a sense of distrust towards funding bodies and institutions, not only from right- wing [FN4] populist politicians and media, in whose interest it is to defund the  independent art field, but also among artists who depend on these bodies and institutions.  

It is crucial that this trust be rebuilt. It is crucial that those of us who believe in a publicly funded art field stand together. It is crucial that when the next intimidation campaign comes, artists should not be left alone to counter it.

Because this will create the distrust that fuels the forces who seek to dismantle not only public funding for the arts, but who – to cite the Freemuse report again – affect the foundations of democratic societies. 

The title of the second lesson from Timothy Snyder’s On Tyranny is Defend institutions.

He writes:

Institutions do not protect themselves. They fall one after the other unless each is defended from the beginning. So choose an institution you care about—a court, a newspaper, a law, a labor union—and take its side.  It is institutions that help us to preserve decency.

Each of us must choose their own.  The institution I have chosen to defend is the independent performing arts field. And with it, I will defend the arts field as such. And with that, I will continue defending the principle of artistic freedom that governs it.

 [FN1]Unclear formulation ?

 [FN2]Add ?

 [FN3]Bruk heller 'considerable' ? (dobbel bruk av 'strong')

 [FN4]obs, med bindestrek når brukt som adjektiv.