Arts and Democracy: What’s at stake today?

Europe’s democracy and shared values are under mounting pressure — from erosion within and disruptive forces from abroad. EU leaders increasingly acknowledge these risks, and culture is being positioned with new urgency as a key pillar of democratic resilience. The EU’s latest cultural strategy, Compass for Culture, places artistic freedom, cultural rights and cultural participation at the core of safeguarding democracy.

Urgent questions remain. What threats do artists and cultural organisations actually face today? How do we meaningfully define and protect artistic freedom? Which cultural rights are being overlooked? What must change for culture to function as a genuine public good accessible to all? And most importantly, how can policymakers translate ambitious declarations into concrete measures for a sector already strained by both long-standing and emerging pressures?

We invite you to an online event presenting early findings from our new study, Between Rhetoric and Reality: Cultural Rights, Artistic Freedom, and Democratic Resilience, which is available to download now and read ahead of the meeting. This research examines the current landscape of freedoms, pressures and aspirations in the performing arts. The event will feature insights from sector representatives, reactions from EU policymakers, and space for open exchange.

• Catherine Magnant, Belgium
• Ksenija Djurovic, Serbia
• Gintarė Masteikaitė, Lithuania
• Haris Pašović, Bosnia and Herzegovina
• Azadeh Ganjeh, Iran
• Matias Hilmar Iversen, Norway