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Back Let’s celebrate the 70th anniversary of the European Cultural Convention in Venice on 20th April!

Heimat, 2022 Lesia Pcholka

As we celebrate the 70th anniversary of the European Cultural Convention, which recognises creativity as having intrinsic cultural, social and political value, it is a critical moment for us to pause and reflect on the state of artistic freedom in Europe today. To do this, the Council of Europe, in collaboration with the Experimental Observatory on Artistic Freedom (OoAF), is presenting The Other Session on the occasion of the 60th Venice Biennale.

The Other Session is an open art event involving a performance panel, artists, curators and representatives of the Council of Europe. It will assess the landscape of artistic freedom through dialogues and performances in the light of the 70th anniversary of the European Cultural Convention. In addition, it will examine the role of existing cultural institutions in supporting freedom of artistic expression and the need for alternative spaces, organisations and various support systems for those working on the margins.

Through art interventions and installations, we will probe the margins of artistic practice, articulating the experiences of those pushed outwards and those pulled inwards, questioning the conditions necessary for cultural and artistic freedom and the role of human/cultural rights and institutions in promoting it.

The right to freedom of artistic expression is key to this. The Council of Europe brings together governments, arts communities and civil society to exchange on the state of artistic freedom and to identify policies and other measures to address the challenges.

The event will examine how we can provide strong and sustained support for silenced and neglected voices, practices, ideas and criticism in the world of art and design. With its Manifesto on the Freedom of Expression of Arts and Culture in the Digital Era and the Free to Create activity with its digital exhibition, the Council of Europe recognises the arts and culture as a powerful means of dialogue in democratic societies.

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