Advocacy

UN experts have urged Nigerian authorities to immediately and unconditionally release Yahaya Sharif-Aminu, who was convicted of blasphemy for writing a song and sharing it on a social messaging service. Yahaya Sharif-Aminu was sentenced to the death penalty in 2020.

Last year, Unchained Vibes Africa was represented at the Salzburg Global Seminar session ‘On the Front Lines: Artists at Risk, Artists who Risk’, where fifty artists, activists and representatives from supporting organisations which cut across forty countries created the Salzburg Statement on Supporting Artists on the Front Line. The Statement is a concise document including definitions of artists at risk, artists who are persecuted due to their artwork, artists as activists or human rights defenders. It includes considerations and reflections for and on those who support art and artists at risk such as policymakers, funders, institutions, organisations in both arts and human rights sectors. The Statement clearly outlines demands and recommendations as well as a three-point call for action by the end of 2025 on the part of policymakers, funders, stakeholders and networks.

On Wednesday 24th January 2024, Unchained Vibes Africa hosted the UN Special Rapporteur in the field of cultural rights to address the participants at the Freedom Vibes Academy Project Briefing Session. This session draws the curtain on a yearlong Academy program which began in 2023. The event was organized as a hybrid event with in-person participation by UVA team from the UVA Gallery in Lagos while the special guest addressed the participants virtually from London, United Kingdom. Other 20 attendees, comprising the current Academy participants and 5 alumni also joined virtually.

Unchained Vibes Africa (UVA) on Wednesday 17th January 2024 hosted the final session of the mentorship phase of the Freedom Vibes Academy. It was organized as a hybrid event with in-person participation by the mentor and UVA team from the UVA Gallery in Lagos while 20 attendees, comprising the current Academy participants and 5 alumni joined virtually. The event commenced at 12.00noon with a welcome address by the UVA Research and Advocacy Manager Sola Alamutu (a.k.a. The Green Queen). This was followed by opening remarks from UVA Executive Producer Ayodele Ganiu who formally introduced the mentor Olajumoke Alawode-James. Prior to the mentor’s opening address, a video was screened to give participants some valuable insights into her career trajectory and as a case study on best practices to inspire them.