Freedom of artistic and cultural expression: a critical analysis of the need for education in the face of censorship and trivialization of public space

DOI: https://doi.org/10.5209/aris.101948
Keywords: freedom of expression, artistic expression, cultural and artistic education, freedom of opinion, ideological censorship

Abstract

Whenever there is talk of freedom of expression, the debates are always situated in the legal-legislative sphere and in the margins of individual or collective freedom, in the limits of the right of others not to be insulted, in the affronts to one's own honor or in what the law should allow to be done or said, indicating what is right or wrong or legal or illegal. But in the context of artistic and cultural education, the debate is quite different: freedom of artistic and cultural expression and its education is aimed at amplifying the minds and lives of children, adolescents and adults, to increase their expressive capacities and the exercise of a critical view and thinking and responsible communication. We analyze from a critical review the space in which freedom of expression occurs through various sources and authors, related terminology and identify problems and opportunities beyond censorship. We conclude with the need to educate in artistic and cultural expression from childhood for a society committed to the use of its artistic and cultural rights and freedoms in the public space.

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Author Biography

Martín Caeiro-Rodríguez, Universidad de Zaragoza

PhD in Fine Arts (2008, University of Vigo); Degree in Fine Arts (2003) and Diploma of Advanced Studies (2005) at the Faculty of Fine Arts of Pontevedra; Course of Pedagogical Adaptation (CAP) at the Faculty of Education Sciences (Pontevedra, 2004); Accredited by ANECA, he has taken many training courses focused on artistic practice, research and teaching. He is currently a member of the Faculty of Education of the University of Zaragoza in the Department of Musical, Plastic and Body Expression. He has been director of the Department of Visual and Plastic Arts Didactics (2015-2020) at the International University of La Rioja (UNIR) and professor of several subjects in the Master of Teacher Training in Secondary Education (Specialty Drawing and Plastic Arts), and in Infant and Primary School Grades, an activity he combines with the Direction of End of Master and End of Degree Works. He has written a doctoral thesis on the concept of the "imaginal": The Imaginal Kingdom: a journey from the natural to the real and vice versa;.Several exhibitions such as Zoographies of the Soul (Museo Verbum. Casa das palabras de Vigo, 2007), Neuston Project, Experiment 1: exploring the interface (Museo del Mar de Vigo, 2009). Co-editor of the books Guía práctica de la Carrera Investigadora en Bellas Artes (University of Vigo, 2007), Notas para una investigación artística (University of Vigo, 2008) and La cultura transversal: colaboraciones entre arte, ciencia y tecnología, (University of Vigo, 2010); He has published several articles such as: El aborigen y sus imágenes (Revista Latinoamericana de Filosofía, Política y Humanidades Araucaria, 2009);, Exponer lo imaginal: reproducir y representar (Revista Arte, Individuo y Sociedad, Universidad Complutense de Madrid, 2009); Tecnopatías de la educación artística: reflexiones en torno a la enseñanza y aprendizaje digital del arte (Biblioteca ONLINE, 2015); o el relato Othijerero y el agujero mágico (Editorial Xerais de Vigo, 2008).

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Published
2026-01-09
How to Cite
Caeiro-Rodríguez M. (2026). Freedom of artistic and cultural expression: a critical analysis of the need for education in the face of censorship and trivialization of public space. Arte, Individuo y Sociedad, 38(1), 17-29. https://doi.org/10.5209/aris.101948
Issue
Vol. 38 No. 1 (2026)
Section
Articles

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