Artistic Freedom in Africa: Developing a Regional Strategy for Censorship Board Reform
Unchained Vibes Africa, UVA will be on a Panel for an important discussion on censorship board reform and the promotion of artistic freedom on Thurs Dec 5th at 4pm CAT i.e. 3pm Lagos Time (West Africa Time). The event which will bring together artists and civil society leaders from across the continent, is the first Pan-African discussion aimed at understanding shared challenges and successes while developing a strategy for regional policy reform is being hosted by Africa is a Country and Artists at Risk Connection (ARC). Together, we will consider how to transform these boards into institutions that support and protect cultural expression. The panel aims to address shared challenges, celebrate successes, and chart a path for regional policy reform to foster a freer and more inclusive creative landscape across Africa.
Censorship boards, often derived from colonial laws, are key tools used to restrict artistic expression. In the current socio-political climate, the significance of art is evident, with artists from Kenya to Nigeria to Tanzania playing critical roles in shaping cultural engagement and galvanising movements that speak to collective interests. Yet, at all levels of artistic output, creatives navigate censorship ranging from restrictions on their work to legal prosecution.
Across Africa, censorship boards take on similar forms yet there has been no regional conversation or strategy to develop alternative legislation that protects artistic rights and free expression. While there has been considerable effort in African civil society and policy circles to address defamation laws, which have long been used to suppress critical voices, the same focus has not been applied to censorship boards. As a result, developing a comprehensive strategy to reform laws that empower censorship boards is one of the most urgent legal projects for advancing artistic freedom in Africa.
Ayodele Ganiu is a culture producer and activist advocating for cultural policy reform and defending artistic freedom in Africa for more than 15 years. He is the founder of Unchained Vibes Africa, a cultural organization established in 2020 to address social issues through the arts. He is the producer of Freedom Vibes, the organization’s flagship program and concert series that promote and defend artistic freedom, leveraging the power of music and arts for advocacy and civic engagements. Ayodele was previously the program director of Intro Afrika and artistic director of Yoruba Drum Festival. Since 2014, he has dedicated his career to advocating against censorship, campaigning for reforms, defending artistic freedom and coordinating emergency assistance for artists at risk. Ayodele has served as Nigerian national coordinator, continental coordinator for Artwatch Africa and regional program officer for Africa at Freemuse. He has also worked with major stakeholders in Nigeria, successfully advocating for a new copyright bill to ensure greater protection for artists’ intellectual property.
Since 2021, his organization, Unchained Vibes Africa, has monitored and documented hundreds of cases of undue censorship in Nigeria with Kano State accounting for more than 80 percent. He has led several advocacy missions engaging the National Film and Videos Censors Board (NFVCB), National Broadcasting Commission (NBC) and Kano State Censorship Board (KSCB) campaigning for reforms in their policies. He has also coordinated legal assistance empowering artists in challenging censorship through litigation. One of these efforts secured a court order in November 2024 restraining the Kano State Censorship Board from interfering with a filmmaker’s productions and distribution.
Ayodele was a recipient of the O’Brien Fellowship by the Center for Human Rights and Legal Pluralism, McGill University, Canada (2019) and Reagan-Fascell Fellowship Award by the National Endowment for Democracy (NED), Washington D.C., United States (2020).
Vincent Kyabayinze is a creative artist and film director dedicated to using art as a powerful tool to advance social justice and equality. In 2011, he founded East African Visual Artists to champion the rights of marginalized communities, through compelling storytelling. Vincent’s innovative approach combines art and advocacy to challenge societal norms and inspire positive change. Empowering creatives to understand censorships and laws affecting freedom of expression, to navigate the challenging political landscape threatening artists. Provide Legal support to artists facing threats and persecution due to their works, in 2022 Vincent Founded the Human Rights are Universal Arts Festival, one of Uganda’s most prominent human rights events, showcasing works of artists speaking truth to power and sparking critical dialogue on human rights, and political environment in Uganda. Vincent continues to Spearhead impactful campaigns to raise awareness about oppressive laws and mobilize public support to compel the government to repeal bad laws. From empowering creatives to strategically continue producing social justice Art to creating platforms where artists can perform and express their true being without fear. Vincent is pushing for reforms that allow creatives to continue creating. Vincent is a graduate of industrial Art, A documentary filmmaker, and advocate for Human rights for all.
Lisa Sidambe is Nhimbe Trust’s Consultant Researcher and Advocacy Lead in the Comprehensive Programme for Artistic Freedom. The work entails monitoring and documenting artistic freedom violations and other developments in 51 African countries, reporting, and engaging UN human rights mechanisms. She is also Freemuse’s Sub-Saharan Africa researcher. Lisa is the founder of Canvas of my Identity, an initiative that employs mixed media visual art to engage post-conflict narrations of contested spaces, contested discourses and contested identities. A Mandela Rhodes Scholar, Canon Collins Scholar, Beit Scholar and Sir John Monash Medallist, Lisa has studied philosophy, international studies, advanced human rights, public law, cultural project management, as well as conflict, development and security. She currently is a Political Studies PhD candidate at the University of Johannesburg.
Sam Brakarsh is the Africa Regional Representative for Artists at Risk Connection (ARC), coordinator of the AMANI: Africa Creative Defense Network, and co-chair of the upcoming PANAF Summit on Artistic Freedom. He is from Zimbabwe where he cofounded the Chikukwa Research Trust and Culture Centre, focusing on sustainable governance, political theatre, and environmental justice. Sam is a Theatre of the Oppressed (TO) practitioner, having established a TO network in Zimbabwe as well as conducting trainings in Ghana, Kenya, the United States, the Philippines, and Palestine. He sits on the Mind and Life Institute’s Advisory Council, where he serves on the review and design committee for their international Changemaker Grant. Sam is a Dalai Lama Fellow and holds a B.A. from Yale University and an M.Sc. from Oxford University.
