Drawing for Freedom

Abstract

The art project” Drawing for Freedom” is a cooperation between the Norwegian human rights organization the Norwegian Helsinki Committee (NHC) and the Academy of Fine Art of the Oslo National Academy of the Arts (KHiO). The thematic focus of the project is political prisoners in Azerbaijan. The project has a clear activist profile, and is linked to a campaign by human rights groups to free all political prisoners in Europe. During the fall semester of 2015, 20 students at the Academy of Fine Art participated in the class ”Drawing as a political tool”: Hans Adell, Erla Audunsdottir, Julia Alfe Bylund, Øyvor Hansen Engen, Therese Frisk, Aksel Octavius Norreen Hauklien, Amanda Hårsmar, Heidi Klemetsen, Anna Knappe, Kachun Lay, Janne Maria Lysen, Anna Sofie Mathiasen, Nasim Iranpour Mashak, Lykourgos Porfyris, Elisabeth Samstad, Erle Saxegaard, Love Terins, Linnea Vestre, Morten Jensen Vågen and Suzannah Rehell Øistad. During two 5-day workshops students met with a former political prisoner from Azerbaijan, an activist in exile, a relative of political prisoners currently in jail, and experts on Azerbaijan/oil states/human rights from the Norwegian Helsinki Committee. Norwegian artists with experience with political art/drawing portraits were also involved: Terje Nicolaisen, Morten Krohg, Shwan Dler Qaradaki and Lotte Konow Lund. Terje Nicolaisen was heavily involved in the creative process, also with his own contribution of works. Artworks made during and after the workshops were exhibited at the City Hall of Paris in December 2015, and later in Stockholm in April 2016 at ”Defenders Day”, an event gathering human rights activists from all over the world. A selected number of works were also shown during the “OSCE Civil Society Parallel Conference 2015”, 1-2 December 2015 in Belgrade, and at Oslo Freedom Forum in May 2016. In September –October 2016 ”Drawing for Freedom” will be exhibited at Akershus Art Centre in Norway. The Norwegian, Swedish, Danish, Finnish and Estonian delegations to the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE) stand behind an application to show “Drawing for Freedom” at the premises of the Council of Europe in Strasbourg in January 2017.