Support for Ukrainian artists - site hosted by Observatory of creative freedom - Observatoire de la liberté de création

The role of the Observatoire de la liberté de création is to protect the right to creative freedom. It is composed of 15 cultural organizations (https://www.ldh-france.org/sujet/observatoire-de-la-liberte-de-creation/Partenaires-347/) and was formed in 2002 to defend French artists against censorship.

Today, when the whole of Ukraine is the victim of an extremely violent offensive, with attacks against civilians as well as the military in violation of international law and the Geneva Convention, the Observatoire wishes to affirm its support for Ukraine's artists, many of whom have taken up arms, setting aside their creative activities to protect their cities, their families, their country and their freedoms. Others try to save their lives as the Russian army bombs hospitals, the media, schools, orphanages, churches, mosques, buildings and houses. Still others are refugees or already live in other countries, such as France.

Putin’s dictatorship has worked for years to curb artists by terrorizing them. It now adopts the same measures beyond Russia’s borders. In attacking Ukraine, a democratic country, it has taken aim at Ukraine’s culture, paralyzing the country and destroying its museums, theaters and architectural heritage. Patriarch Kyrill, who has close ties to Vladimir Putin, justifies the war in the name of a refusal of western culture and its so-called sins and he claims, on the basis of a theocratic view of contemporary history, that human rights must be subjugated to Russian Orthodox dogma. Culture, in every sense of the word, is clearly an essential aspect of this war.

As organizations representing film makers, artists, theaters, art critics, and musicians or defending popular education and human rights, we decided two decades ago to unite our efforts and our experience to fight artistic censorship. We consider that people should have access to works of art. In the face of this war, we wish to show our solidarity with Ukraine’s artists and present their creations. The pages on this site will include works that have been destroyed or are inaccessible as well as cultural events that have not taken place or been interrupted.

This is a way to defend the freedoms which the Observatoire promotes: the freedom to create, to present artistic work, to encourage its diffusion, and to oppose its destruction. It is not much, and it will not stop the war. But against destruction and violence stands the power of works of art: to elicit emotion, create bridges and links, encourage revolt…

You can help us collect information or translate documents, if you are able to do so, by writing to this address: soutienartistesukraine@ldh-france.org