Dear APAP Members and Colleagues,
Nearly six weeks have passed since the Russian invasion of Ukraine, and every day, the atrocities mount. The targeted aggression of the Russian state toward Ukrainian civilians and the prolonged oppression and manipulation of its own citizens are direct attacks on the values of human rights and free expression we hold sacred.
The arts are of the world. Our performing arts industry does not exist in a silo. Our colleagues and their communities are impacted. This is why I am writing you today.
On behalf of artists and performing arts workers across North America and beyond, the Association of Performing Arts Professionals (APAP) stands in support of artists and arts workers in Ukraine who are seeing their theaters, performance spaces, and cultural artifacts destroyed. We stand in support of artists and arts workers and the people of Ukraine who have been displaced and whose lives are being disrupted. We stand in support of artists and arts workers of Ukraine who, like thousands of their fellow citizens, have been lost to the violence.
APAP also stands in support of the artists, arts workers and citizens of Russia who have spoken out, faced censorship, taken to the streets, risked arrest and endured brutality.
APAP understands that this travesty and tragedy is not the first or only, nor sadly the last, in our human history and that other parts of the world and other people have been devastated by war and inhumanity. We further acknowledge that this war has life-or-death implications reaching far beyond Europe.
In this moment of international crisis, APAP affirms that:
- The arts are unequivocal in our support of free expression, and thus we denounce the autocratic regimes that rise to power by suppressing free expression.
- The arts as a field is a connector, not a divider. In war, along with the people and their communities, the arts suffer, but we can also be a unifying and healing force.
- The arts embrace cultural exchange. We advocate for global diplomacy and peace.
- We are in solidarity with artists and arts workers around the world.
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We want to take this moment to celebrate the strength of the human spirit by raising up just a few examples of artists and arts workers who are demonstrating great resolve, courage, resilience and resistance. We know that these are just a few of the many brave acts happening every day.
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Last Monday night, a Ukrainian ballerina who fled the war in her homeland and a Russian ballerina who quit the Bolshoi Ballet over the Russian invasion performed a sold-out benefit performance in Naples, Italy to raise funds for the Red Cross and champion the cause of peace in Ukraine.
During Sunday's Grammy Awards ceremony, Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskyy addressed Americans in a pre-recorded message from a bunker in Kyiv. He urged our support: "We defend our freedom. To live. To love. To sound. On our land, we are fighting Russia which brings horrible silence with its bombs. Fill the silence with your music. Support us in any way you can. Any — but not silence."
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Lastly, we applaud the very many in our APAP community---artists, arts workers, venues, organizations---who have supported and continue to rally support for Ukrainian artists and the Ukrainian people. We encourage your support of these efforts.
We are stronger together.
Sincerely,
Lisa Richards Toney
President and CEO, APAP
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Photo credit: A fresco by French street artist Kelu Abstract in the 13th arrondissement of Paris. (Photo by Chesnot) |
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