A retrospective exhibition at the Indiana University Bloomington (IU) of 87-year-old Palestinian American artist and alumna Samia Halaby, titled “Centers of Energy,” was abruptly canceled on December 20 ahead of its February 10 opening. The university informed the artist that the show had been terminated in a two-sentence email citing unspecified “safety concerns.”
“Centers of Energy” would have opened at the school’sLeila Reichert, the survey intended to exhibit approximately 35 abstract paintings and drawings from across Halaby’s career. In a petition launched to reinstate the show, IU students stated the exhibition had been in the works for more than three years and blamed IU president Pamela Whitten for the decision. The statement, which further alleged that the university had sought to “distance itself from the cause of Palestinian freedom” by cancelling the show, has garnered more than 15,000 signatories to date.
