Voices in Public Art: Mapping Freedom of Speech and Expression in the Nordic Region

Participated in Voices in Public Art: Mapping Freedom of Speech and Expression in the Nordic Region, a conference organized by Mesén as part of FORCE, a platform focused on artistic freedom of expression and democratic dialogue in the Nordic region. The conference brought together artists, curators, scholars, and cultural workers to reflect on the conditions of public art, democracy, and freedom of expression today.  

 

Opened the conference with the performance I Want to Speak, presented at 09:30 in the University Aula. The performance introduced key questions around voice, visibility, and the struggle to speak under systems of pressure, censorship, and silencing.  

 

Also presented The Sound Project as part of Session 1: Artistic Freedom of Expression. The work reflects on women’s voices, resistance, and the politics of expression through sound, drawing from Tara Abdullah’s broader practice of using voice as a form of testimony, protest, and collective memory.  

 

Within the context of the conference, both works contributed to wider discussions on artistic freedom, harassment, censorship, self-censorship, and the role of art in public space. The presentation connected experiences from Kurdistan to broader Nordic and international conversations about what artists need in order to work freely and how art can challenge repression while creating space for dialogue.