Frames for Freedom

The very fact that autocrats around the world so vigorously suppress artists from expressing themselves and criticizing authority is proof that art is feared by tyrants and, consequently, must be an effective approach in the quest for change and, ultimately, freedom.

A few years ago, FNF Regional Office for East and Southeast Europe (FNF ESEE) started a new forum called “The Future of Freedom Consultation”, which brings together civil activists, scholars, human rights experts, journalists, and others from the Foundation’s partner organizations in Europe to share and exchange experiences. Another Consultation goal is to generate conversations and encourage cooperation among different organizations in different countries. In 2018 the Future of Freedom Consultation was conducted in Georgia. The theme of this event was “The artist and the Tyrant – How to promote freedom through art”. Art was portrayed as the most creative form of expression and as a promising means to an end: the promotion of freedom.

Using this idea in various workshops, participants developed ideas, strategies, and ad pitches about how art could be used to fight for more freedom in Eastern European societies. The three most promising proposals were developed during follow-up workshops in 2019. They consisted of creative and innovative methodologies for empowerment but needed to be fleshed out so that they could be used for a prototyping process. We will present one of these innovative ideas here, the “Frames 4 Freedom” guidelines. Our intent is to showcase the effect of using artistic expression in the form of frames for:

• PROMOTING FREEDOM
• EMPOWERING FREEDOM OF EXPRESSION
• EXPLORING PUBLIC OPINION ON FREEDOM
• through GENERATING CASUAL CONVERSATIONS WITH ORDINARY CITIZENS.

The “Frames 4 Freedom” Guideline of  FNF East and Southeast Europe was developed by a structured and systematic process that included:

• a multi-stakeholder approach in designing methodology
• expertise in using artistic expressions for stimulating
• fine-tuning both civic and political activism
• and field-testing analysis.

The prototyping process started with a series of events in the “The Artist and the Tyrant” Consultation which brought together experts in the fields of political and civic activism, art, non-formal education, and methodology development. The participants applied their mix of different expertise to create the first outline of “Frames 4 Freedom” as a tool to enhance efforts to promote freedom.

This outline was then filled out and its methodology refined to produce a prototype ready for testing in public. The purpose of testing was to gauge the effectiveness of using the artistic expression in the form of frames to involve citizens “on the streets” in a conversation about freedom.

A total of 57 citizens were involved in discussions about what freedom meant for them, using the three methods presented in this guideline and measuring their level of engagement. Citizens were invited to talk about:

• Freedom to Love 
• Freedom of Expression 
• Freedom to a Decent Life 
• Freedom to be Yourself without Borders 
• Freedom to Proper Education

Experts used the prototype’s test results to fine-tune its methodology. This later developed into a step-by-step Frames 4 Freedom Guideline dedicated to help civic and political activists. 

DOWNLOAD THE MANUAL and the FRAMES BELOW.