VII BIENAL DE JAFRE : LIBERTAS*

Freedom is one of the words most frequently used in the rhetoric of European democracies. Since its origins as legal status in Roman law, freedom has been the most valued right a human being can possess yet also the most costly to obtain and preserve.
In order to organise community life, democracies establish rules conditioned by the economic, political and religious needs of society. For this reason freedom becomes an abstract object marked off by the historical context in which it develops. The inequality of conditions in different countries and regions is noticeable by the level of freedom granted to its citizens. Today, in an attempt to improve national order and security, it is the same legal systems that reduce the rights of the individual. A clear barometer of this is internet access.
Freedom is a complex concept which can be analysed from different perspectives. At a philosophical, sociological, anthropological, psychological and political level although perhaps the aspect which continues to be able to activate and represent the act and execution of freedom the most effectively is through artistic creation. Capable of taking a stance against any sort of censorship, artistic expression continues to be the most powerful vehicle with which to manifest, defend and promote an opinion. It is the job of visual artists, writers, musicians and creative intellectuals to use the ideas and emotions of a community and transform the signals of freedom into cultural acceptance. In the seventh edition of the Jafre Biennial, artists are invited to explore, question and celebrate the meaning of freedom in society today.

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# download the publication for VII Bienal Jafre / pdf version