ArtsLink Assembly 2025: Defending Each Other – November 6-7
November 6-7, 2025
Tickets for Friday evening concert/dj set
Tickets:
Adults: $30
Students/Seniors: $25
La MaMa Members: $10
Thursday, Nov 6 – All day from 10:00am
Friday, Nov 7 – 10:00am-^:00 p.m.
Ticket prices are inclusive of all fees.
66 East 4th Street
New York, NY 10003
Friday Assembly Day Tickets are free on request to: info@cecartslink.org
Friday Nov 7, 7:30pm.
Mehrnam Rastegari & Chogan | Sabina Fattakh: Double Bill
LaMaMa Ellen Stewart Theatre
Featuring
Mehrnam Rastegari – kamancheh, voice
Amit Peled – guitar
Sam Minaie – double bass
Cinque “Ignabu” Kemp – percussion
Sabina Fattakh – DJ
Experience a powerful convergence of global sounds featuring award winning master kamancheh player Mehrnam Rastegari and her virtuoso band Chogan. Hosted by Artistic Freedom Initiative, this special closing concert for the ArtsLink Assembly 2025: Defending Each Other moves through Iranian classical, Middle Eastern folk, Klezmer, and New York jazz traditions, creating a dynamic sonic celebration of cultural survival and creative momentum.
After the intermission Sabina Fattakh, DJ, educator, and cultural organizer from Almaty, Kazakhstan. Her special set will explore the intersections of breakbeat, local instruments, and collective memory, creating dance spaces rooted in resilience and connection.
Building Collective Support for Artists in the U.S. Amid Persecution, Crisis, and Conflict
“In a full-scale war, getting united, working together – it’s an existential question for us.”
Natalia Matsenko – Ukrainian Curator
ArtsLink Assembly in Ukraine
ABOUT
ArtsLink Assembly 2025 is a national gathering focused on supporting artists at risk—those directly impacted by war, political persecution, or climate crisis. This two-day event brings together U.S.-based organizations that assist with artist resettlement, resettled artists, cities of asylum, cultural institutions, funders, scholars, and arts networks.
Organized by CEC ArtsLink and Artistic Freedom Initiative in collaboration with Artists at Risk Connection and On the Move, the Assembly features:
- Artist talks and personal stories
- Expert panels and policy discussions
- Working groups on strengthening support systems for Artists
- A live concert by resettled musicians
- A Central Asian DJ set celebrating cultural resilience
The event will also launch new research commissioned by CEC ArtsLink and On the Move, focusing on the lived experiences of displaced artists and offering actionable strategies for strengthening support systems in the U.S. cultural sector.
As global crises displace more artists than ever, U.S. cities and nonprofit organizations are stepping up to provide refuge and possibility. ArtsLink Assembly 2025 is a crucial platform for advancing collaboration, shaping policy, and ensuring that resettled artists and their peers in the U.S. can build their professional lives and contribute meaningfully to the nation’s cultural diversity.
Join us in New York to build a more inclusive, resilient, and artist-centered future.
CREDITS
Curated and produced by CEC ArtsLink (NYC) and Artistic Freedom Initiative (NYC) in partnership with Artists at Risk Connection (NYC) and On the Move (Belgium/France)
Supported by Trust for Mutual Understanding
ArtsLink Assembly 2025 convenes key organizations across the U.S. dedicated to resettling and supporting artists at risk, to build solutions for policy and practices across U.S. cultural and political sectors.
CEC ArtsLink (NYC) – supports transnational cultural dialogue and exchange, empowering artists to engage communities and peers in dialogue and collaborations.
Artistic Freedom Initiative (AFI) (NYC) – has assisted over 1,660 artists from 60 countries, offering legal aid, residencies, and produced major events at the Kennedy Center and Lincoln Center.
