Artists across the U.S. are gearing up for a sweeping protest movement in defense of creative freedom and democracy

15 October 2025

‘Our democracy is under attack,’ organisers state. Photograph: Fall of Freedom

A coalition of writers, filmmakers, musicians, and visual artists have announced a nationwide initiative called Fall of Freedom to take place on 21–22 November, framing it as an act of “creative resistance” against rising authoritarianism and perceived threats to free expression in the United States. The campaign is led in part by visual artist Dread Scott and playwright Lynn Nottage, and is backed by groups like PEN America, New York and Brooklyn public libraries, the University of Southern California, and the Maysles Documentary Center.

The movement’s organizers say that in recent months they have watched attempts by the Trump administration to influence arts funding, pressure institutions to suppress dissenting voices, and demand ideological loyalty in cultural institutions. Trump’s calls to purge “improper ideology” from Smithsonian exhibits and his tightening of arts funding criteria are cited as examples of the pressure artists are now fighting. In response, Fall of Freedom invites participation in many forms: staged readings of “banned” plays, curated exhibitions on censorship, screenings of politically charged films, and other artistic interventions meant to spotlight the role of dissent in the American narrative.

Among the high-profile supporters are filmmaker Michael Moore, director Ava DuVernay, musician John Legend, artist Marilyn Minter, and author Jennifer Egan. Egan, who previously served as PEN America president, expressed her support, saying the time has come for artists to act together to defend their right to think and speak freely. Nottage added that the arts are central to the American story and cannot be silenced without erasing essential parts of our democratic identity.

The protest is being framed not merely as political dissent but as an assertion that art has an irreducible role in society beyond commodification, beyond censorship, beyond simplistic categorization. The organizers describe Fall of Freedom as a kind of open-invite architecture, laying out ideas and guidelines rather than issuing fixed demands. Some recommended acts include hosting a library of censored texts, screening films banned or challenged in certain locales, and staging play readings that challenge conventional narratives. In New York City, for example, plans include the Leslie-Lohman Museum of Art curating a library of books by queer artists confronted with censorship.

This latest mobilization builds on the momentum of earlier movements such as “No Kings,” a nationwide protest wave conducted in June 2025 against what participants viewed as Trump’s increasingly authoritarian posture. That movement involved rallies in more than 2,100 cities and towns with an estimated turnout of over five million people. Organizers of Fall of Freedom see the November events as a cultural counterweight to what they perceive as political overreach, especially in arenas where control over narrative and values is contested.

Critics of the movement caution that large symbolic gestures may not always translate into lasting structural change. Some worry that protest events could be coopted, diluted, or misinterpreted as performance rather than substance. Others point to the challenge of sustaining momentum, especially in a polarized climate where art and culture are often caught in political crosswinds. Yet the organizers remain undeterred. Their language emphasizes that this is not a one-off moment but a call to reassert the centrality of dissent and imagination in public life.

Fall of Freedom also signals a broader shift in how artists are thinking about their civic responsibilities. Rather than waiting for permission, the movement suggests that creators must proactively defend the space for critique, experimentation, and provocation. In a moment when many institutions appear to be under pressure to avoid controversy, this kind of overt resistance sends a strong message: when art is under threat, art must respond.

As November approaches, the success of Fall of Freedom will likely be measured not only by attendance and visibility but by the ripple effects it generates: how many new conversations it sparks, how many institutions take a stand, how many individuals see their creative voice affirmed. Whatever shape it takes, the campaign posits that in this moment the artists must be the ones to raise the flag even if it means standing apart from comfort or consensus.