“Samia Halaby Uncanceled” will showcase the abstract artist's life and art.
(Courtesy of Elizabeth Housworth)
Local organizers will feature Palestinian artist Samia Halaby’s life and work Feb. 17 at the Buskirk-Chumley Theater.
Organizer and Indiana University professor Elizabeth Housworth said she was deeply troubled by IU’s decision to cancel Halaby’s exhibit at the Eskenazi Museum of Art in December. Halaby granted Housworth permission and support for the show, and after Housworth led the creation and funding of the event.
“Samia Halaby Uncanceled” is a free but ticketed event. Tickets can be reserved on the Buskirk-Chumley Theater’s website. Housworth said she expects the event to sell out. It starts at 7 p.m.
“This is the event for people who want to understand what we are missing by having the art exhibit canceled,” Housworth said. “It will contain videos of Samia Halaby’s art, and her life and history.”
Emmy-winning cinematographer Bill Winters will show a video he recently created and other pieces provided by Halaby and her grand-niece Madison Gordon will be shown, Housworth said.
Halaby is regarded as one of Palestine’s foremost artists and a pioneer in abstract painting.
Housworth said there’s a possibility of protests at “Samia Halaby Uncanceled,” and there’s already been some negative reactions. Housworth says these reactions are “completely understandable,” because Halaby is an anti-Zionist activist.
“However, she herself was displaced from Palestine in 1948,” Housworth said. “I think that her experience as somebody displaced in the creation of Israel, and in the discrimination she has experienced in America, that that is also an important voice to include in the conversation. I don't think these things are helped by people not listening to each other.”
The theater will provide security and Bloomington police have been notified of the event.
In addition to Halaby’s studio, MFA students and free speech organizations including the ACLU and the National Coalition Against Censorship have called for the reinstatement of the exhibition and condemned IU. About 15,000 people have signed a petition for the reinstatement of Halaby’s exhibition as well.
A group of students, staff and community members protested at the Eskenazi Museum of Art and on IU's campus on Jan. 26. (Devan Ridgway, WTIU)
IU has declined multiple requests for interviews. An IU spokesperson has maintained that the event was canceled due to security concerns from campus officials and academic leaders. The event was set to show Feb. 10 after three years of preparation. It would have been the first American retrospective of Halaby’s work.
Housworth — along with many others speaking out locally and nationally — said IU’s explanation was vague.
“She is not the only voice in the issue, but it seemed like we were canceling one side of the issue,” Housworth said about Halaby. “And I felt it was wrong.”
IU Bloomington American Association of University Professors is sponsoring and partially funding the event, Convener Bob Eno said. The AAUP felt the community could express its disapproval for Halaby’s cancelation and show appreciation for why the exhibit was created.
As a Palestinian refugee from the war in which Israel was created, Halaby speaks with a legitimate historical voice people need to hear, Eno said, regardless of how people may disagree about the past and present.
“When we suppress her art or silence her voice by invoking the very different issue of antisemitism, we diminish our own understanding, while we also give actual antisemites opportunities to further promote their views,” Eno said.
The chapter published its own analysis of Halaby’s cancelation in its Spring 2024 report. The chapter wants the cancelation reversed, Eno said.
The cancelation and the university’s lack of response to Halaby is “deeply disturbing,” Eno said. The university’s silence as to actual reasons for the cancelation of Halaby’s exhibit seems like an effort to prevent any discussions, he said.
“It is unusually uncivil, and unkind,” Eno said. “It sends a message of its own, which we find embarrassing our university.”
In a Bloomington Faculty Council meeting, Provost Rahul Shrivastav said the university was being cautious by canceling the event. He said the event would have been a “lightning rod” for protests in the middle of campus. He didn’t say who exactly made the decision of if any credible threats were made despite being pressed by faculty.
“I will tell you from my perspective, if I have to make a decision on keeping a project or program going when there is a risk of violence or risk of other incidents, I would err on the side of caution,” Shrivastav said at the meeting.
Aubrey is our higher education reporter and a Report For America corps member. Contact her at aubmwrig@iu.edu or follow her on Twitter at @aubreymwright.
