International Human Rights Art Festival To Return For 5th Year With Over 200 Performers

International Human Rights Art Movement, a 501c3 non-profit with a mission to support artists and their quest to heal the world, is presenting its performance festival for their fifth year, offering a passionate week of thought-provoking and culturally topical performances.

Held from December 4-10th, 2023, IHRAF will showcase a roster of original plays, spoken word pieces, participatory workshops, poems, music, circus acts, dance performances, and much more. All pieces revolve around pressing social issues such as climate change, immigration, diversity, LGBTQIA, women's empowerment, and more.

The pieces are unified by their adherence to the IHRAF's values of beauty as a fundamental creative principle; sincerity and vulnerability of presentation; celebration of diversity and opening doorways of engagement and discussion.

"Since our founding at Dixon Place in March 2017, we have expanded to literary, fellowship, book publishing and strong youth programming; worked with artists from 103 countries; helped release artists-in-exile from Uganda and Zimbabwe from prison; been banned by the Catholic Church due to our LGBTQ programming; featured videos from Congressman John Lewis (deceased), Senator Charles Schumer and Presidential Medal in the Arts winner Norman Lear; and been covered by major press outlets in NYC and around the world," Thomas Block, Founding Executive Director, International Human Rights Art Movement.

The festival features a consortium of over 200 performers, including the following:

Rachael Sage - Sage will be presenting selections from her critically acclaimed Sistersongs to the IHRAF, following her 15th full-length album, The Other Side. Sage has been on the forefront of the NYC indie women's music scene for over 20 years, garnering listeners from Ireland to Japan. Informed by her own experiences as a survivor of domestic abuse, sexual assault and cancer while also harnessing a seemingly unlimited amount of idealism and hope for a better future, Sage's Sistersongs take the listener on a journey exploring our common humanity while challenging us with difficult questions and a world reimagined, where inclusion and compassion reign supreme.

Blessed Unrest - Inconceivable is a quest to discover how our past experiences, individual and collective, marry with our present realities. What do we value in ourselves and our communities? How does this manifest in raw and authentic ways through the body?

Aseemkala Initiative - Shilpa Darivemula noted, "The reaction of enthusiasm from the audience showed us that IHRAF was more than just a festival to perform at--it was a platform for artistic exchange on how to use the arts to challenge the world. Love the work IHRAF does!"

Giada Matteini/WADE - Founder and Artistic Director, Giada Matteini stated, "The WADEintoACTIVISM Festival began during the Covid-19 Pandemic lockdown as a response to the global increase of violence against women. It was the first program I conceptualized as the backbone of what would later become WADE, because I felt an urgency to bring these topics to the forefront through dance and to give voices to those who systematically felt silenced and overlooked. Its efforts continue today in collaboration with feminist organizations from around the world to galvanize artists and thinkers toward investigation and collective action."

Farm Arts Collective - Tannis Kowalchuk, Artistic Director, Farm Arts Collective stated, "Farm Arts Collective had a wonderful artistic experience presenting our work at the IHRAF. The opportunity to participate in a curated festival with other companies creating work with social justice themes and missions helped us connect with like minded artists and expand our knowledge in the field."

International Human Rights Art Festival Schedule

For the complete schedule, please visit: https://humanrightsartmovement.org/ihraf-festival-2023

International Human Rights Art Festival Details

December 4th-10th, 2023, various times

The Tank

312 West 36th Street

New York, NY 10018

For additional information and ticket info, please visit: https://humanrightsartmovement.org/ihraf-festival-2023

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