On 10 December, honouring Human Rights Day 2020, Freemuse launched its premier report on LGBTI artists, art and artistic freedom, Painting the Rainbow: How LGBTI Freedom of Artistic Expression is Denied.

The report highlights 149 acts of artistic violations against LGBTI persons and art documented by Freemuse between January 2018 and June 2020.  

“Freedom of artistic expression of LGBTI artists is freedom of artistic expression of everyone. It is alarming to witness this large scale of illegitimate restrictions of LGBTI artistic freedom including in Europe,” said Dr Srirak Plipat, Freemuse Executive Director. “At least 77 countries use criminalisation of homosexuality laws, criminal codes, and the newly popular ‘anti-LGBTI propaganda laws’ to silence LGBTI artists, while these legal instruments are inconsistent with international human rights standards in the first place.”

The pioneering Freemuse report, reveals that even though LGBTI artists have been facing different types of discrimination in many different social, political, and legal contexts no laws, traditions, or religions can entirely stop artistic expression around these issues.

Read the full report here.