Denise Fahmy
co-director, Freedom in the Arts

Denise Fahmy is co-director, together with choreographer Rosie Kay, of Freedom in the Arts.  FITA champions artistic freedom as a fundamental pillar of democracy and supports artists experiencing cancellation.  FITA documented artists’ self-censorship in their report Afraid to Speak Freely published in 2025. FITA’s latest report The New Boycott Crisis documents the impact of boycott logic on artists, venues and agents.  Together with a toolkit to help the sector resist boycott pressure, FITA is working hard to restore tolerance and freedom of expression in the UK

Denise Fahmy has 30 years’ experience in arts administration. Denise is a visual arts specialist and worked for Arts Council England for 15 years. In June 2023 an Employment Tribunal found that Denise’s claim of harassment, that she’d experienced at work relating to her gender critical belief, was well-founded. Her legal costs were met by 1,284 well-wishers through a Crowd Justice campaign.

Follow Denise on X: @DeniseFahmy

RELATED SESSIONS

Saturday 7 March, 13:25 Cotton Theatre, Pendulum Hotel, Manchester
How can the arts embrace freedom of expression?