Unchain Music: freeing
Ukraine's captive musicians

Cultural Forces has launched Unchain Music, a global initiative led by the platform’s international division. Its mission is to secure the release of nine Ukrainian musicians held in Russian captivity.

The nine are members of military bands who did not participate in combat operations but have nevertheless been held captive for an extended period. Unchain Music offers the international community practical ways to show its support. We have called on fellow artists and cultural institutions around the world to take simple but powerful actions:

• #9SecondsForPOW — observe nine seconds of silence during a performance, one second for each captive musician;
• #EmptySeat — photograph an empty musician’s chair on stage as a symbol of someone who is currently unable to perform;
• #PlayForPOW — perform music on behalf of those whose hands are now in chains.

The central purpose of these actions is to help secure the release of our people through cultural diplomacy and soft power.

RussT (RUSSian Torture)

The platform’s artists have taken the initiative further, bringing the issue of Russian captivity to the streets of cities across Europe and the United States through the RussT project. RussT is a series of public art installations featuring silhouettes of prisoners made from Corten steel. Their poses recreate the real forms of torture inflicted on Ukrainians in Russian captivity. When exposed to rain, the steel begins to “bleed” rust, symbolizing both an unending flow of blood and the deadly toll of time spent in captivity. The installations remind the world that every day of delay quite literally corrodes the lives of Ukraine’s defenders.