Protocol 2: Priority of the Artist Over Institutional Authority.

For a healthy and ethical functioning of organizations hosting artists at risk, the priority of the artist must take precedence over institutional authority and administrative self-interest. While this principle may appear counterintuitive in bureaucratic settings, it is foundational to responsible humanitarian and cultural work.

Across functional systems, ethical order is maintained by prioritizing the foundational or vulnerable element: civilians over military power, constitutional values over ordinary legislation, patients over healthcare systems, and consumer rights over commercial interests. This hierarchy exists not to weaken institutions, but to preserve their legitimacy.

In the context of artist protection, the artist is the foundational subject upon whom the organization’s mission rests. Under no circumstances should a hosting organization position itself as a competitor to the artist it hosts, nor should it conflate its administrative role with the lived risk carried by the artist.

Hosting organizations are not the entity at risk. Artists are.

When institutions adopt a posture of victimhood or present themselves as equally endangered, they invert the ethical hierarchy of protection. This inversion often leads to unhealthy dynamics in which the organization unconsciously seeks moral superiority, symbolic authority, or emotional leverage over the artist. Such dynamics risk reproducing patterns of domination that artists at risk frequently fled in their countries of origin.

A “rescuer” role, when unexamined, may generate entitlement, paternalism, or hierarchical behavior, whereby the artist is treated as subordinate, indebted, or conditionally tolerated. This creates an atmosphere of permanent accountability and psychological surveillance, increasing stress, hypervigilance, and self-censorship among hosted artists.

Organizations committed to genuine protection must therefore refrain from:

• Competing with artists for moral legitimacy or symbolic representation
• Framing institutional discomfort as equivalent to existential risk
• Positioning artists as beneficiaries who owe loyalty or gratitude

The priority of the artist entails, at minimum:

• Respect for personal dignity and autonomy
• Respect for privacy and personal boundaries
• Respect for freedom of expression
• Respect for cultural, political, and symbolic identity

This principle is inseparable from institutional self-awareness. Without a clear understanding of power asymmetry, no ethical hosting relationship can be sustained.

Operational Safeguards

• Clear internal policies prohibiting institutional self-victimization in conflicts
• Explicit recognition of power asymmetry in staff training and governance
• Separation between administrative authority and symbolic representation
• Mechanisms allowing artists to express concerns without fear of reprisal
• Regular ethical audits assessing whether institutional practices prioritize artists or administrative comfort