About 50 Indiana University students, employees and community members gathered on campus Jan. 26 to protest the cancellation of artist Samia Halaby's exhibition.
(Devan Ridgway, WFIU)
Protestors at Indiana University’s campus and the Eskenazi Museum of Art are demanding the reinstatement of Palestinian artist Samia Halaby and recognition of Palestinian suffering.
About 50 community members and students responded to a call from organizer Reed Hepburn Friday. Hepburn, an alum and current employee, said the protest was prompted by the cancelation of Palestinian artist Samia Halaby’s exhibition. The protests mostly targeted President Pamela Whitten.
“I think many of us here really love IU, and we think it's a wonderful university with a lot of potential to do great things, but it's just really failing to live up to its mission right now,” Reed said. “We need to keep talking about this and keep making a scene until something happens.”
Protesters began their demonstration at the Eskenazi Museum of Art, then worked their way through campus to Bryan Hall. Protesters carried signs saying “Shame on IU for canceling Halaby” and “Your censorship will not go unnoticed.”
As they walked through campusthey could be heard chanting “Shame on Whitten" and “Art not bombs.”
The “Samia Halaby: Centers of Energy” exhibition was canceled Dec. 20 after three years of preparation due to security concerns by campus officials and academic leaders. The exhibition was set to open in February at the Eskenazi Museum of Art as the first American retrospective of Halaby’s work.
Halaby is regarded as a pioneer in 20th-century abstract art and one of Palestine’s most acclaimed artists. Born in Palestine, she’s a life-long activist for the region’s people and freedom.
IU didn’t respond to a request for comment by the time of publication. In an email statement, an IU spokesperson said “academic leaders and campus officials canceled the exhibit due to concerns about guaranteeing the security of the exhibit for its duration.”
Reed said the cancellation “flies in the face of IU’s stated values and academic diversity.” Halaby is an abstract artist, and there’s nothing inflammatory about her art on its face.
“It's just so very clear that this is, you know, identity-based discrimination, which is completely against the values that IU stands for.”
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 petitionfor the reinstatement of Halaby’s exhibition as well.
An alum and current PSC member said the group helped spread the word of Hepburn’s demonstration, and many members attended. He asked to not share his name.
“We want to support anyone who wants to organize around this as much as possible,” he said.
The PSC member said he’s helped organize multiple protests on the Bloomington campus each week, including peacefully protesting during campus tours.
“This is a way to inform prospective students about IU’s policies that they may want to know about before deciding to come here,” he said.
Whitten gave a statementin support of Israel and acknowledged the pain IU’s Jewish community felt after the Hamas attacked Israel on Oct. 7. The statement followed criticism for her first, ambitious statementabout “the Middle East.”
The PSC member said one of the group’s demands is the acknowledgment of Palestinian suffering and that the region is at war. The group wants to see the university ensure the safety of Palestinian, Arab and Muslim students.
“There have been no statements in support of Palestinian communities in Bloomington at any of these campuses,” he said.
In a January Bloomington Faculty Council meeting, Provost Rahul Shrivastav said the university is aware of Islamaphobic incidents. He said IU has adopted a definition of Islamophobia, and there are plans to create a Muslim Cultural Center.
Since Whitten’s statement, IU has been caught in multiple controversies surrounding Palestinian activism on campus.
Rep. Jim Banks (R, IN-03) wrote in a Nov. 16 letter to Whitten that the university is failing to combat antisemitism. Banks threatened that IU could lose federal funding. He also took aim at student activists with the IU group, calling pro-Palestinian demonstrations "pro-terrorist.”
Faculty spoke out against Banks. They responded with a letter committing to academic freedom and freedom of expression for all students — even students who do controversial things such as protesting.
IU associate professor and Palestinian Solidarity Committee advisorAbdulkader Sinno was suspended in December, days after Halaby’s exhibition was canceled. Faculty called out the IU administration for bypassing the university policy of a hearing among his peers to punish the professor.
“Any voices supporting Palestinian rights have been silenced, as we saw with the suspension of the professor,” Reed said. “Clearly, President Witten is sort of at the behest of the state legislature, which is conflating any support for Palestine with antisemitism, which is just flagrantly wrong and racist.”
Aubrey is our higher education reporter and a Report For America corps member. Contact her ataubmwrig@iu.eduor follow her on Twitter at@aubreymwright.
