New body seeks to tackle ‘cancel culture’ in the arts

A new organisation claiming people in the arts sector are being "cancelled" for expressing their views on gender and diversity has launched in a bid to "encourage free thought and expression".

Freedom in the Arts has been set up by Rosie Kay, Artistic Director and CEO of dance company K2CO, and Denise Fahmy, a former Relationship Manager at Arts Council England, who won an employment tribunal against the organisation after she was found to have been harassed by fellow staff for her gender critical beliefs.

The pair said the new organisation is a "five-year emergency project to tackle the culture of fear and intimidation facing artists".

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It will have three main aims: to champion artistic freedom and allow the exploration of difficult ideas, support artists experiencing harassment or cancellation for their beliefs, and to hold arts institutions to account to ensure they "maintain impartiality and welcome a diversity of thought and belief".

Kay said that before setting the organisation up, she spoke with more than 15 artists about their experiences. 

"It really has been harrowing to hear the experiences of esteemed and talented artists who have been ostracised, their work cancelled, and the way they have been intimidated by the very arts organisations that should be supporting them," she said.

"A senior arts leader confided that the atmosphere in their profession was one of ‘fear and loathing’. 

"These are senior, experienced people, some of whom are well known. Common reasons for cancellation include differences of opinion particularly on the gender debate, or conflicting views on diversity policies.

"There’s a sense people risk their reputations if they do not adhere to political orthodoxy in the arts. It’s a completely toxic situation, and I cannot see how audiences will benefit from a culture in the arts that is so policed.”

Fahmy said that having worked in arts administration for many years she feels a responsibility "to restore tolerance and free-thinking to the arts". 

"The UK has a thriving sector, but a censorious culture is threatening our freedom of expression. 

"Politicisation of policy, data collection and what should be impartial institutions is affecting all aspects of the arts from freedom of speech to safeguarding.  

"Talking about these issues and their impacts, with artists, leaders and policymakers, is needed now to bring about change at all levels of the sector.”

Inclusive environments

The establishment of the organisation comes at a time of uncertainty for many arts organisations as to how to create and maintain organisational cultures and environments that are inclusive and safe for trans people.

Last month Leicester University’s Research Centre for Museums and Galleries (RCMG) revealed that "numerous" cultural organisations had contacted it seeking advice around trans inclusion in light of the need to respect people who hold gender critical beliefs.

Meanwhile, a review into diversity within Arts Council England found that the organisation has experienced an "unresolved breakdown" in the relationship between pro-trans and gender critical staff.

It said the debate around gender reassignment now represents a "major fault line" in the public body that will not be easily rectified.