INTERNATIONAL HUMAN RIGHTS ART FESTIVAL to Return to New York
The festival will feature artists from around the world addressing immigration, climate action, LGBTQIA+ rights, and other pressing global issues.
The International Human Rights Art Festival will to New York this December for its eighth annual celebration of artists using their work to illuminate human rights, social justice, identity, and the urgent issues shaping our world.
Taking place December 7-13, 2026, at wild project, this year's festival continues IHRAF's commitment to creating a space for unheard voices and marginalized creators. Through theatre, performance art, spoken word, dance, puppetry, music and other performance disciplines, artists explore immigration, climate action, LGBTQIA+ rights, women's rights, Black voices, Africa, and social justice, while inviting audiences into conversations that cross borders and cultures. The IHRAF Festival will also be featuring the winners of the African Human Rights Spoken Word Contest, further deepening global connections between activist artists. The full schedule, including 12 performance blocks featuring 60 performances, will be released on October 26.
On October 24, 2026, at 2 p.m. ET, IHRAF will present a free online Artists-at-Risk program featuring the world premiere of the Artists-at-Risk documentary, highlighting artists around the world who risk their safety, and sometimes their lives, simply to create. Attendees can sign up here to meet these courageous artists:
Additionally, four of the artists will be joining us live, to deepen the discussion and answer questions, including:
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Anfal, 15, and Rahaf, 7, Palestinian artists living in Gaza: 'All we want is to be safe and follow our dreams.'
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Vantace, a 16-year-old Afghan Hazara queer dancer: 'The Taliban kidnapped and tortured my father because I dance.'
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Razack Buwaso Ibrahim, poet from Uganda: 'They could do whatever they wanted with me - they ripped my fingernails out.'
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Khaled Radwan, playwright from Syria: 'I survived an assassination attempt.'
IHRAF's publishing work further extends its mission with the newly released anthology, Solidarity: A Celebration of Activism, Renewal, and the Natural World, from International Human Rights Art Movement Press. The collection explores activism across continents and generations, from major movements confronting Palestinian sovereignty, racial injustice, and economic inequality to stories emerging from small villages in Africa, Rohingya refugee camps, and other communities whose struggles often receive little attention. Through literary expression and poetry, the featured writers demonstrate how even the quietest voices can become catalysts for long-lasting change. Solidarity celebrates activism while also exploring joy, community, identity, belonging, and the natural world, inviting readers on a hopeful journey that transcends borders.
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