Samia Halaby: After Being Banned to Artistic Vindication

It seemed like a small miracle to come out from a conversation with Samia Halaby perfectly fine. Not just due to the precarious wooden stairs leading to her Tribeca-based studio, but because certain parties consider the veteran visual arts trailblazer as a so-called threat.

Artistic Censorship

Back in December 2023, Halaby’s alma mater canceled what was planned as the premier American exhibition of her work. The retrospective had been a long time in preparation, yet the artist was told via a curt two-sentence letter from the gallery head citing unclear logistical problems. The artist thinks the real reason was the museum’s desire to avoid association from Palestine-related content in the wake of the events of October 7.

Subsequently, another US university called off without notice the exhibition premiere for another retrospectives and took down a piece titled Six Golden Heroes, which highlighted the flight of inmates.

Award and Recognition

Now, after being censored, Halaby is being honored with the 2025 Munch Award for artistic courage. Would she call this vindication?

Hardly, she says during our conversation. It’s more like polarization. Individuals who were on the right side kept that way. No one has changed, everyone has become more extreme.”

Halaby stresses that it was not the academic community that rejected her, but the officials—probably influenced by official policies. During the Trump era, pro-Palestinian speech on college grounds faced widespread censorship.

Still, Halaby is genuinely thrilled to be granted the award, notably since it comes from Norway—a nation reputed for its historic solidarity with the Palestinian cause.

“The British one can split into the beautiful people displaying signs that get them arrested, and the administration.”

On Displacement and Identity

Born in historic Palestine in the pre-war era, Halaby was displaced to Beirut during the catastrophe of 1948. Though she has seen her hometown multiple times, she does not have the right to resettle due to legal barriers.

“I would have to be on a visa,” she explains, “leaving me at the whim of the state. They could cancel it without warning.”

Art as Craft, Not Just Expression

In place of working from pure emotion, the artist views art as a skilled practice rooted in optics and rigor. “I study the physics of illumination, the physiology of the eye,” Halaby affirms. People that think art is only emotional outpouring are mistaken.”

She believes that people respond to her paintings because they recognize the reality they inhabit reflected in them.

A Broader View

Regarding current influential people and expression rights, Halaby suggests thinking on a broader scale:

“If you examine centuries of human events, one understands that a figure such as a controversial president is comparable to a fly on a large animal. It hurts—because the fly is in control making a mess. But the world is vast we live in.”

In spite of obstacles, she remains forward-looking, devoted to her craft and the enduring value of creative expression in a complex world.