Culture Action Europe, together with the Reset! network, is launching an Action Group on Artistic Freedom. Across Europe, artistic freedom is facing growing pressure.

The EU’s new strategy for culture, the Culture Compass, proposes monitoring artistic freedom as part of the Commission’s forthcoming State of Culture Report. Negotiations on AgoraEU, the successor to Creative Europe for 2028-2034, are opening discussions on a possible funding line for artists at risk.At the same time, many civil society organisations, networks and grassroots initiatives are already active in this field: from monitoring violations and designing support schemes to developing proposals for an Artistic Freedom Act. Culture Action Europe has outlined this broader context in the Artistic Freedom Chapter of the discussion paper ‘Towards the Culture Compass: A Sector Blueprint.’

The Action Group will focus on knowledge-sharing and on strengthening complementarity between existing efforts. We invite our members, including networks, cultural organisations and other actors working on artistic freedom, to share information, exchange experiences and build capacity together.

The group will also serve as a sounding board for the Artistic Freedom Act. Culture Action Europe is part of the Artistic Freedom Act Steering Group, which is currently working on the draft act. Through the Action Group, we hope to gather feedback from members and ensure that the process is informed by a broad range of civil society perspectives.

In addition, the Action Group will explore other upcoming EU-level policy opportunities related to artistic freedom. The first meeting will take place online on 11 June 2026, 11:00 – 12:30. Register here.

Image credit: Studio Madonna, BEYOND 2025: Being Many | Torino, 2025.