Uploaded June 2026 | Updated September 2026, 2 weeks ago
Richard Gere presents the Václav Havel Prize to imprisoned Chinese artist Gao Zhen, honoring his decades of fearless artistic dissent, and to Burmese artist and curator Sai, honoring his fearless work confronting authoritarianism, censorship, and transnational repression.
Gao Zhen, one of the Gao Brothers duo, has long used art to challenge authoritarian narratives and expose the human cost of repression. Detained in August 2024 after a raid on his studio near Beijing, he was charged under the vaguely defined offense of “slandering heroes and martyrs,” increasingly used to criminalize artistic expression. He remains in detention under harsh conditions, with limited access to family and medical care. HRF’s Impact Litigation and Art in Protest programs have supported the Gao Brothers for years, showing their work at the 2019 Oslo Freedom Forum and submitting a petition to the UN Working Group on Arbitrary Detention calling for Gao Zhen’s release, underscoring a continued commitment to artists who defend freedom through their work.
Since the 2021 military coup in Burma, Sai has used exhibitions and collaborative projects to document state violence and build networks of democratic solidarity. In 2025, he curated “Constellation of Complicity” at the Bangkok Art and Culture Centre, an exhibition examining how authoritarian regimes reinforce one another’s power, which faced political pressure and censorship. Now in exile in the United Kingdom, he continues to speak out against Burma’s junta and the authoritarian collaboration his work exposes — using art as witness, resistance, and solidarity.
Learn more about #OsloFreedomForum:
Website: oslofreedomforum.com
X: https://x.com/OsloFF
Instagram: instagram.com/osloff
Join us in promoting freedom where it’s most at risk!
Donate today: hrf.org/?form=donate
Richard Gere presents the Václav Havel Prize to imprisoned Chinese artist Gao Zhen, honoring his decades of fearless artistic dissent, and to Burmese artist and curator Sai, honoring his fearless work confronting authoritarianism, censorship, and transnational repression.
Gao Zhen, one of the Gao Brothers duo, has long used art to challenge authoritarian narratives and expose the human cost of repression. Detained in August 2024 after a raid on his studio near Beijing, he was charged under the vaguely defined offense of “slandering heroes and martyrs,” increasingly used to criminalize artistic expression. He remains in detention under harsh conditions, with limited access to family and medical care. HRF’s Impact Litigation and Art in Protest programs have supported the Gao Brothers for years, showing their work at the 2019 Oslo Freedom Forum and submitting a petition to the UN Working Group on Arbitrary Detention calling for Gao Zhen’s release, underscoring a continued commitment to artists who defend freedom through their work.
Since the 2021 military coup in Burma, Sai has used exhibitions and collaborative projects to document state violence and build networks of democratic solidarity. In 2025, he curated “Constellation of Complicity” at the Bangkok Art and Culture Centre, an exhibition examining how authoritarian regimes reinforce one another’s power, which faced political pressure and censorship. Now in exile in the United Kingdom, he continues to speak out against Burma’s junta and the authoritarian collaboration his work exposes — using art as witness, resistance, and solidarity.
Learn more about #OsloFreedomForum:
Website: oslofreedomforum.com
X: https://x.com/OsloFF
Instagram: instagram.com/osloff
Join us in promoting freedom where it’s most at risk!
Donate today: hrf.org/?form=donate
