A struggle for freedom goes hand in hand with a struggle for expression. Artists have always been and always will be a powerful force for emancipation. The quest for freedom has been an important defining force in the way different art forms, from literature to music to dance to the visual arts, have developed in different cultures. The American work songs, spirituals and blues, for instance, trace an arc that have their roots in African music. The experience of slavery, calculated to dehumanise and oppress, was resisted and given a voice and a dignity through these musical forms. And today they have both energised and transformed the vocabularies of modern music.

In partnership with eminent artists, activists and thinkers as well as emergent younger talent, the Freedom and Culture programme explores the crucial dimensions of oppression and freedom, culminating in a vibrant weekend programme around the International Creative Forum. The International Creative Forum itself will be on 10 November.

Presented by Cultural Brokers and Alchemy (Freedom and Culture Ltd) and Southbank Centre.

For full information on Freedom & Culture and the International Creative Forum, please see freedomandculture.com

This weekend also includes a performance by Denys Baptiste.

Other events include: Lost Chords, Unsung Songs, the Freedom and Culture International Creative Forum, and the LPO Renga Ensemble.

DATES AND TIMES

• Friday 9 November
• Saturday 10 November
• Sunday 11 November