FAQ

FAQ

Our aim is to cover the whole region. The pilot phase of the Southeast Asian Artistic Freedom RADAR project started in 2022 with 6 countries, Cambodia, Indonesia, Malaysia, The Philippines, Thailand and Vietnam. We’ll add the other countries in the region progressively over the next few years.

Yes, we didn’t expect to be documenting cases about gym socks when we started either. But attire, like billboard ads and kickboxing, reflect broader questions about who controls cultural expression. Our approach is grounded in UNESCO’s definition of cultural rights which frames cultural life as the right to participate, access, contribute to, and benefit from arts, cultural expressions and practices in its diverse forms. And, as cultural critic Raymond Williams has noted, culture is not just the arts, but “a whole way of life, material, intellectual, spiritual”.

Setting the research parameters when documenting arts and cultural practice is a balancing act. Too broad, and the data is diluted, too narrow, and we risk overlooking meaningful, emerging patterns. The Southeast Asian Artistic Freedom RADAR inclusion criteria is designed to reflect the expansive nature of creative work. But we do use an internal checklist to decide when to include or exclude an incident. For example, digital content such as memes or short form videos, should have an element of creativity, culture, or social purpose (parody, critique, commentary) to be included.

The research is interested in the temperature, not just the forest fire. We aim to detect early signs of pressure on artistic freedom, not just major bans or cancellations. These ‘low-heat’ incidents are important indicators of a shrinking civic space. Therefore, we document all attempts to violate, diminish, disadvantage, discourage the right to artistic freedom. While the end result may not be a cut scene or a banned concert, the attempt to suppress or discredit an artist, event or artwork is in itself a significant data point when mapping the state of artistic freedom in the region.

We’ll respectfully step aside and let Farida Shaeed, UN Special Rapporteur in the Field of Cultural Rights 2013-2015, take this one: 

Artistic expressions and creations do not always carry, and should not be reduced to carrying, a specific message or information. In addition, the resort to fiction and the imaginary must be understood and respected as a crucial element of the freedom indispensable for creative activities and artistic expressions: representations of the real must not be confused with the real, which means, for example, that what a character says in a novel cannot be equated with the author’s personal views. Hence, artists should be able to explore the darker side of humanity, and to represent crimes or what some may consider as “immorality”, without being accused of promoting these.

Freedom of expression is not an absolute right and may be restricted if it is libellous , discriminatory or incites violence. However, under international law, restrictions imposed  have to pass the three-part test and meet the following criteria: 

  1. A restriction must be in accordance with a law. This includes primary legislation, as well as regulations and other legally binding documents adopted pursuant to primary legislation. It is not enough simply to have a law; the law must also meet certain standards of clarity and accessibility. If restrictions are unduly vague, or otherwise grant excessively discretionary powers of application to the authorities, they fail to meet the main purpose of this part of the test.
  2. A restriction must be proportional: what does this mean – that a state must instigate the least restrictive method over a person’s human right to achieve the legitimate aim of the right.
  3. A restriction should be necessary for the rights or reputations of others, the protection of national security or of public order, or of public health or moral and proportionate against the benefits of the restriction.

As the field is constantly evolving, we review and calibrate our methodology where necessary.

The full breakdown of the Southeast Asian Artistic Freedom RADAR methodology and inclusion criteria is here, but in short, these are just some of the questions we ask ourselves when encountering potential cases:

  • Has an artwork or event been removed, cancelled, banned or altered?
  • Have there been irregularities or unusual delays in the permit application process, or other subtle acts to prevent the creation or distribution of the work or event? 
  • Has the artist/ creator/presenter/distributor been detained, questioned, harassed, pressured, attacked, doxed, accused? Have they been stigmatized or had opportunities withdrawn?
  • Has a member of the public had their choice or access to arts and culture been restricted, disadvantaged, prevented?

We try to be as thorough in our research as possible. However, there are inevitably limitations to how comprehensive our data collection is, as we rely mainly on publicly available information. Incidents in less-covered regions or presented in different languages may be underrepresented. Further, most incidents do not make the news. While we do our best to get all the cases that fall below the radar, information silos and barriers to access remain. Our researchers are well connected to the arts and culture community on the ground but we continue to build  more networks with rights and arts groups to expand our access in this area.

Our researchers cross-check multiple public sources i.e. news articles, reports, social media posts to determine the legitimacy and details of the cases. We also contact those targeted where possible, to document incidents which may not be publicly known.

Southeast Asian Artistic Freedom RADAR has developed a research tool that captures over 50 data points per case, giving us granular data about the creator, the artwork, the agent and the methods used. In practice, violations of artistic freedom are seldom precise or easily reduced to clean data points. Within a single case, there may be multiple agents, each using unique methods to constrict the art work, silence the creator and punish the presenter.

Working with data specialist edgeandstory , we analyse the raw data and generate statistics that take into account the multifaceted aspect of each case. This allows us to generate interactive graphs that capture some of the key patterns in the challenges to artistic freedom in Southeast Asia.

Our database is just one piece of the puzzle. The information we collect is used in many ways. Through the course of this project, we’ve always asked ourselves: What story do we want to tell? and What data do we need to tell it effectively? 

With our research findings, we’ve not only created the first-of-its kind searchable regional artistic freedom database but we’ve also produced multiple forms of content ranging from infographics, articles, reports and podcasts all for the larger purpose of supporting the work of our stakeholders, including artists, rights-advocates, researchers and policy makers to defend artistic freedom in the region. Read all the content here!

You can submit a report here. We recognise that safety and security is paramount for this project and all correspondence will be kept strictly private and confidential. With your informed consent, we can document and verify the case but restrict it from public access and anonymise the details of your experience to protect your identity.

Southeast Asian Artistic Freedom RADAR is run by ArtsEquator Ltd, an arts organisation that values and promotes Southeast Asian regional art practice, in partnership with Five Arts Centre, the oldest arts collective in Malaysia.  We have researchers who conduct the research in each country we document. Get to know the whole team here!

Yes! If you want to advocate for the rights of artists, use our research in your arts and cultural work or to simply raise awareness about cases in your country, our data is yours to reference and cite, but please acknowledge the source with the following line “Source: Southeast Asian Artistic Freedom RADAR” with a link back to our website. 

Should you have any other questions about the database or content on this site, do reach out to us at <sea@artsequator.com>.