09.02.2016
#YoTambienExijo shortlisted for the Index on Censorship’s Freedom of Expression Award 2016, in the Arts Category. Congratulations to the team, and a speacil thanks to the super Deborah Bruguera.
ARTS
For artists and arts producers whose work challenges repression and injustice and celebrates artistic free expression.
Tania Bruguera is an American-Cuban artist who was arrested after attempting to stage her performance piece #YoTambienExijo in Havana in late 2014. Mounted soon after the apparent thaw in US-Cuban relations, Bruguera’s piece offered members of the public the chance of one minute of ‘censor-free’ expression in Havana’s Plaza de la Revolución.
The banning of the show, and Bruguera’s subsequent detention, caused an international outcry and sparked a worldwide solidarity movement for free expression in Cuba. Leading venues and artists around the world have been re-staging #YoTambienExijo all year, drawing attention to the ongoing persecution of artists in Cuba. Bruguera estimates that over 20,000 Cubans have been involved in the project to date.
“I truly believe that in totalitarian regimes like Cuba, art has the privilege to open doors. It can serve as an escape from fear and from a life of lies.” – Tania Bruguera, founder #YoTambienExijo