The Freedom to Create Prize was established in 2008 to foster prosperity in the developing world by investing in the creative foundations of society. The Freedom to Create Prize was awarded from 2008 to 2011 to support and recognise artists who strive for social change in places where there is no "freedom to create".

Freedom to Create Prize

The Freedom to Create Prize celebrates the power of art to promote social justice and inspire the human spirit. The Prize is open to artists in all creative fields. Artwork is assessed on its ability to accomplish one or all of the following: promote social justice, build societal foundations, and inspire the human spirit. Each year, US$125,000 in prize money is awarded across three categories: Main, Youth and Imprisoned Artist.

2011 Freedom to Create Prize

Winners were announced in an award ceremony and concert at the

Kirstenbosch National Botanical Garden Kirstenbosch is an important botanical garden nestled at the eastern foot of Table Mountain in Cape Town. The garden is one of 10 National Botanical Gardens covering five of South Africa's six different biomes and administered by the South A ...

in Cape Town, South Africa on 19 November 2011. Myanmar's pro-democracy leader and Nobel Peace Prize Laureate

Aung San Suu Kyi Aung San Suu Kyi (; ; born 19 June 1945) is a Burmese politician, diplomat, author, and a 1991 Nobel Peace Prize laureate who served as State Counsellor of Myanmar (equivalent to a prime minister) and Minister of Foreign Affairs from ...

recorded a special message congratulating Imprisoned Artist Prize winner Win Maw.

Judging Panel

Judges for the 2011 Freedom to Create Prize included: 2010 Freedom to Create Prize winner and Sudanese theatre producer Ali Mahdi Nouri; Thai filmmaker

Apichatpong Weerasethakul Apichatpong Weerasethakul ( th, อภิชาติพงศ์ วีระเศรษฐกุล; ; ) is a Thai independent film director, screenwriter, and film producer. Working outside the strict confines of the Thai film studio system, ...

; South African writer

Achmat Dangor Achmat Dangor (2 October 1948 – 6 September 2020) was a South African writer, poet, and development professional. His most important works include the novels ''Kafka's Curse'' (1997) and ''Bitter Fruit'' (2001). He was also the author of three ...

; Croatian born painter

Ana Tzarev Ana Tzarev (born 1937) is a Croatian artist. Early life Ana Tzarev was born Marija Guina in Trogir, Croatia, and her mother was Anka Carev. She "started out as a dressmaker". In 1956, she met Robert Chandler, whom she married in Split, Croatia, ...

; Egyptian human rights activist Dalia Ziada; American film actress Daryl Hannah; celebrated street artist

D*Face Dean Stockton, better known by his alias D*Face, is an English multimedia street artist who uses spray paint, stickers, posters, and stencils. D*Face grew up in London and had a childhood interest in graffiti in drawing. He credits this to Henry ...

; Pakistani poet, journalist and social activist Fatima Bhutto; philosopher, cultural theorist, and novelist

Kwame Anthony Appiah Kwame Akroma-Ampim Kusi Anthony Appiah ( ; born 8 May 1954) is a philosopher, cultural theorist, and novelist whose interests include political and moral theory, the philosophy of language and mind, and African intellectual history. Appiah wa ...

; author

Salman Rushdie Sir Ahmed Salman Rushdie (; born 19 June 1947) is an Indian-born British-American novelist. His work often combines magic realism with historical fiction and primarily deals with connections, disruptions, and migrations between Eastern and Wes ...

; Professor

Lourdes Arizpe Lourdes (, also , ; oc, Lorda ) is a market town situated in the Pyrenees. It is part of the Hautes-Pyrénées department in the Occitanie region in southwestern France. Prior to the mid-19th century, the town was best known for the Château ...

; dancer and actor

Mikhail Baryshnikov Mikhail Nikolayevich Baryshnikov ( rus, Михаил Николаевич Барышников, p=mʲɪxɐˈil bɐ'rɨʂnʲɪkəf; lv, Mihails Barišņikovs; born January 28, 1948) is a Latvian Soviet Socialist Republic, Soviet Latvian-born R ...

; award-winning filmmaker and producer Mira Nair; writer and curator Sarah Lewis; and authority on the development of creativity, innovation and human resources, Sir Ken Robinson.

Main Prize Category

Imprisoned Artist Prize

2010 Freedom to Create Prize

Over 1,700 artists from 127 countries participated in the 2010 Freedom to Create Prize. Winners were announced in a ceremony at the Salah El Din Citadel in Cairo, Egypt on 26 November 2010.

Judging Panel

This year's judging panel comprised 13 individuals from a broad range of expertise. They are: Egypt's former first lady and human rights campaigner Mrs Jehan Sedat; Pakistani poet, journalist and social activist, Fatima Bhutto; prominent theorist on Critical Race theory and professor at

UCLA School of Law The UCLA School of Law is one of 12 professional schools at the University of California, Los Angeles. UCLA Law has been consistently ranked by '' U.S. News & World Report'' as one of the top 20 law schools in the United States since the inception ...

and Columbia Law School Professor Kimberlé Crenshaw; celebrated street artist

; non-executive director at the UK Financial Services Authority, Professor Dame Sandra Dawson OBE; 2009 Freedom to Create Prize winner and acclaimed Iranian filmmaker

Mohsen Makhmalbaf Mohsen Makhmalbaf ( fa, محسن مخملباف, ''Mohsen Makhmalbaaf''; born May 29, 1957) is an Iranian film director, writer, film editor, and producer. He has made more than 20 feature films, won some 50 awards and been a juror in more than 1 ...

; award-winning filmmaker and producer Mira Nair; journalist and author

Mariane Pearl Mariane van Neyenhoff Pearl (born 23 July 1967) is a French freelance journalist and a former reporter and columnist for '' Glamour'' magazine. She is the widow of Daniel Pearl, an American journalist who was the South Asia Bureau Chief for ''The ...

; Professor of Contemporary Islamic Studies at the Oxford University, Professor

Tariq Ramadan Tariq Ramadan ( ar, طارق رمضان, ; born 26 August 1962) is a Swiss Muslim academic, philosopher, and writer. He was a professor of contemporary Islamic studies at St Antony's College, Oxford and the Faculty of Theology and Religion, Univ ...

; leading human rights lawyer

Geoffrey Robertson QC Geoffrey Ronald Robertson (born 30 September 1946) is a human rights barrister, academic, author and broadcaster. He holds dual Australian and British citizenship.

; authority on the development of creativity, innovation and human resources, Sir Ken Robinson; former diplomat and lecturer on cultural diplomacy, Professor Cynthia P. Schneider; and Croatian born artist

Reaction

2010 Freedom to Create Prize panelist and former First Lady of Egypt,

Jehan Sadat Jehan Sadat ( ar, جيهان السادات ''Jihān as-Sadāt'', ; née Safwat Raouf; 29 August 1933 – 9 July 2021) was an Egyptian human rights activist, the First Lady of Egypt from 1970 until her husband's assassination in 1981. As Egypt ...

, said: "The artists who have been selected as finalists in this year's Freedom to Create competition know full well the price they are paying to express their ideas, hopes, and dreams for their people and their nations. They have endured harsh criticisms, and in some cases, have placed themselves in grave danger. As a result, they have done more than expose the ills plaguing their societies. They have provided solutions and alternatives, and by so doing, they are trying to change the world. Each exemplifies the power of art, music, and the written word."

Main Prize Category

Youth Prize Category

Imprisoned Artist Prize Category

2009 Freedom to Create Prize

The shortlisted artists for the 2009 Freedom to Create Prize were announced on 26 October 2009. In total, there were 1,015 artists from more than 100 countries.

Judging Panel

The 2009 Freedom to Create Prize was judged by a panel of high-profile artists, opinion formers, and human rights experts. They were: leading international human rights lawyer and jurist on the UN's Internal Justice Council

Geoffrey Robertson QC Geoffrey Ronald Robertson (born 30 September 1946) is a human rights barrister, academic, author and broadcaster. He holds dual Australian and British citizenship.

; composer and founder of West-Eastern Divan Orchestra

Daniel Barenboim Daniel Barenboim (; in he, דניאל בארנבוים, born 15 November 1942) is an Argentine-born classical pianist and conductor based in Berlin. He has been since 1992 General Music Director of the Berlin State Opera and "Staatskapellmeist ...

; co-founder, along with Kofi Annan, of global diplomatic group, The Global Elders, and founder of Indian women and micro-finance movements Dr Ela Bhatt; BBC arts corresponden
Razia Iqbal
Time Out founder and chair of Human Rights Watch Tony Elliott; award-winning Anglo-Indian artist

Sacha Jafri Sacha Jafri (born 1977 in United Kingdom) is a contemporary British artist known for creating the world's largest painting on canvas, ''Journey of Humanity'' (as recognised by ''Guinness World Records'') over seven months in 2020 during the COVI ...

; New York-based arts lawyer Peter Stern; artist

; and Zimbabwean playwright

Cont Mhlanga Cont Mdladla Mhlanga (1957/1958 – 1 August 2022) was a Zimbabwean playwright, actor, and theatre director. He was also the founder and head of the Amakhosi Theatre Productions company, formed in 1982. Mhlanga was a critic of the government ...

, winner of the inaugural Freedom to Create Prize in 2008.

Main Prize Category

Youth Prize Category

Imprisoned Artist Prize Category

2008 Freedom to Create Prize

Results and judging panel

The inaugural Freedom to Create Prize attracted more than 900 entries from 86 countries. The 2008 award was judged by a panel of artists, commentators and human rights experts including Andrew Dickson,

Htein Lin Htein Lin ( my, ထိန်လင်း, ; born 31 December 1966) is a Burmese painter, performance artist, and activist.Cu ...

Carlos Reyes-Manzo Carlos Reyes-Manzo (born 1944 Cartagena, Chile) is a social documentary photographer and poet. He studied with Bob Borowicz and Rafael Sánchez S.J. at the Instituto Filmico of the ''Pontificia Universidad Catolica de Chile'' and in 1964 began w ...

and

Reaction

Presenting an award at the 2008 ceremony in London, renowned playwright Sir

Tom Stoppard Sir Tom Stoppard (born , 3 July 1937) is a Czech born British playwright and screenwriter. He has written for film, radio, stage, and television, finding prominence with plays. His work covers the themes of human rights, censorship, and politi ...

said, "My participation in the Freedom to Create Prize was my first contact with this truly admirable enterprise. It is important that abuses of human rights are attacked from all sides of every free society."

Freedom to Create Prize Exhibition

The Freedom to Create Prize Exhibition was a yearly travelling exhibition of notable entries from that year's Freedom to Create Prize. The 2009, 2010, and 2011 Prize Exhibitions were held in various cities around the world, including

London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

Harare Harare (; formerly Salisbury ) is the capital and most populous city of Zimbabwe. The city proper has an area of 940 km2 (371 mi2) and a population of 2.12 million in the 2012 census and an estimated 3.12 million in its metropolitan ...

Kabul Kabul (; ps, , ; , ) is the capital and largest city of Afghanistan. Located in the eastern half of the country, it is also a municipality, forming part of the Kabul Province; it is administratively divided into 22 municipal districts. Acco ...

Cairo Cairo ( ; ar, القاهرة, al-Qāhirah, ) is the capital of Egypt and its largest city, home to 10 million people. It is also part of the largest urban agglomeration in Africa, the Arab world and the Middle East: The Greater Cairo metro ...

Mumbai Mumbai (, ; also known as Bombay — the official name until 1995) is the capital city of the Indian state of Maharashtra and the ''de facto'' financial centre of India. According to the United Nations, as of 2018, Mumbai is the second- ...

Sarajevo Sarajevo ( ; cyrl, Сарајево, ; ''see Names of European cities in different languages (Q–T)#S, names in other languages'') is the Capital city, capital and largest city of Bosnia and Herzegovina, with a population of 275,524 in its a ...

, and

Xiamen Xiamen ( , ; ), also known as Amoy (, from Hokkien pronunciation ), is a sub-provincial city in southeastern Fujian, People's Republic of China, beside the Taiwan Strait. It is divided into six districts: Huli, Siming, Jimei, Tong'an, ...

Freedom to Create Forum

In 2010, Freedom to Create launched a new initiative, the Freedom to Create Forum. The forum was a series of panel discussions which aimed to debate the challenges and opportunities for women in building creative and prosperous lives, families and communities.2010 Freedom to Create Prize Forum
'freedomtocreate.com' The inaugural forum was held on 24 November 2010, at the

American University in Cairo The American University in Cairo (AUC; ar, الجامعة الأمريكية بالقاهرة, Al-Jāmi‘a al-’Amrīkiyya bi-l-Qāhira) is a private research university in Cairo, Egypt. The university offers American-style learning programs ...

. The panel featured guest of honour and 2010 Prize judge Jehan Sedat, moderator and international broadcaster Femi Oke and was accompanied by

, Dalia Ziada, Professor Kimberlé Crenshaw and Dianne Laurance. It focused on the misuse of traditional, cultural, and religious dogmas that hinder opportunities for women. There were two Freedom to Create Forums held in 2011. The first was held in New York, featuring a discussion on female entrepreneurship and empowerment in developing countries. The panel featured

Mary Ellen Iskenderian Mary Ellen Iskenderian is president and CEO of Women's World Banking, the world's largest network of microfinance institutions and banks. She has written columns in Forbes magazine and The Wall Street Journal and is a regular contributor to the ...

, Francine LeFrak,

Lauren Bush Lauren Bush Lauren (born Lauren Pierce Bush; June 25, 1984) is the CEO and co-founder of FEED Projects. She is also known for her previous career as a fashion model and designer. She is the daughter of Neil Bush and Sharon Bush (née Smith), g ...

, and moderator Femi Oke. The second Forum was held in Cape Town, featuring women who have challenged structures keeping women vulnerable in their communities. The panel included keynote speaker Graça Machel, panelists Unity Dow, Chouchou Namegabe, and Molly Melching, and moderator Gcina Mhlophe.

Sources

Freedom to Create Prize 2009 Winner's Announcement:
Iranian director, opposition campaigner wins award
'Reuters'
Iran should face smarter sanctions, says Mohsen Makhmalbaf
'Guardian'
Iranian filmmaker collects prize
'Channel4'

'Telegraph'

'New York Times'

'Al Jazeera'
Makhmalbaf: back democracy in Iran
'Guardian' Freedom to Create Prize 2009 Shortlisted Artists' Announcement:
Iran director, Saharan singer up for prize
'Saudi Gazette'
Freedom to Create Prize Announces Finalists
'Newstin'
Freedom to Create Prize Announces Finalists
'USA Today'

'Yahoo Entretenimiento'

'Payvand.com'

'International Business Times'
Iranian Director, Journalist Up for Social Justice Prize
'Washington TV'
Iran director, Saharan singer up for prize
'Yahoo - India News'
Iran director, Saharan singer up for prize
'Insing.com' Selected coverage from 2009 Freedom to Create Launch:
Cont Mhlanga talks about writing against the backdrop of Robert Mugabe's regime
'Guardian'
Letter from Africa, 'When you tell a joke in the street, that is political'
'BBC' Selected coverage from Freedom to Create Prize 2008:

'BBC'
Arts & Free Expression in Zimbabwe
'Guardian'

'New York Times'

References

External links

Freedom to Create website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Freedom To Create Prize Arts awards