04 Jun Global Artist and 2025 Free Speech Award Judge Diane Burko Advocates for Freedom of Expression

Artists of all genres are often renowned for their dedication to not only expressing their creativity but also sharing their voice and calling attention to issues they are passionate about.

Diane Burko is no exception.

Known globally for her work in painting, photography, and time-based media, Diane describes herself as a “research-based artist at the intersection of art, science, and the environment.” A focal point of her work is considering the marks that human conversations make on the landscape.

After focusing for several decades on monumental geological formations and waterways through landscape painting, she has shifted in the past 20 years to analyze the impact of industrial and colonial activity on those same landscapes.

All of the beliefs she holds around art, the environment and the place humans hold in the world shaped her desire to be a 2025 Free Speech Award judge.

“Free Speech is what we believe in in America. It’s in our Constitution and our Declaration of Independence,” she said. “I pride myself on being a citizen and I pride myself on saying what I think.”

Diane thinks that filmmakers should be considered artists just as much as painters, photographers and those working in other mediums of art. In fact, she feels that filmmakers have the power to influence people in even bigger ways than other artists.

“I think the arts is the most direct way to influence people’s opinions, to inform them on an emotional level. Film is one of the most important ways of doing that. There’s nothing like watching a documentary or a film that captures you on many levels,” she said.

In addition to recognizing the emotional influence filmmakers have on the world, Diane also wanted to serve as a judge because, as an artist herself, she recognizes how important it is to give everyone in the arts the attention they deserve.

“American INSIGHT’s Free Speech Award is acknowledging individuals who believe in what they believe in, what we all should believe in. People need to be reward and acknowledged because artists need support and filmmakers for sure need support. What they are doing is so vital to the health of our whole world,” she said.

In addition to creating art, Diane has taught art as well. She is a Professor Emerita of the Community College of Philadelphia, with additional teaching experience at Princeton University. Her background in education gives her a special insight into how she feels students are being taught today.

“Students today unfortunately are not taught history. I really think that’s a problem. I might sound like an old person but we have to know where we come from. It’s important to understand that,” she said. “I think if more people understood issues of free speech – the basics of them – they would be a little bit more up in arms about what’s happening in the United States right now.”

As a first-generation American, Diane said she has a deeply personal appreciation for the value of free speech in America but is also cautious about what will happen to our right to free speech in the future.

What Free Speech Means to Diane Burko?

“My parents came here believing in the American dream. They came right before World War II. So I have a personal stake and understanding of how important free speech can be to ones life and really to the health and survival of the whole world,” she said. “The directions we are going in now are very troubling and free speech is being distorted constantly.”

Diane’s passion for the causes she deeply believes in has helped her become an award-winning and globally-renowned artist. She received a Lifetime Achievement Award from the Women’s Caucus for Art and multiple grants from the NEA, the Pennsylvania Arts Council, the Leeway Foundation and the Independence Foundation.

She has exhibited extensively nationally and internationally, including shows at London’s Royal Academy of Art, Minneapolis Art Institute, National Academy of Sciences, Phillips Collection, RISD Museum, Tang Museum, Wesleyan University Center for the Arts. She has been awarded residencies in Giverny, Bellagio, the Arctic Circle, and the Amazon Rainforest. In 2021, her solo exhibition Seeing Climate Change at the American University Museum was cited in the New York Times as one of the best shows of 2021.

Free Speech Award

As Diane highlights, artists need support. You can champion this vital work and be part of the celebration by purchasing your tickets to the 2025 Free Speech Award Ceremony:
https://americaninsight.networkforgood.com/events/86490-free-speech-award