“Echoes of 1981” – A Conversation with Samia Halaby
The Palestinian artist Samia Halaby returns to Kunstnernes Hus after 44 years. Join us for an informal conversation revisiting her memories of the landmark 1981 exhibition Palestinian Artists and her visit to Oslo — reflecting on artistic exchange, resistance, and international solidarity with Palestine today.
Where
Cinema
Price
Free admission. No registration - first come, first served.
About the event
Born in Jerusalem in 1936, Halaby is a pioneering abstract painter and digital artist whose work bridges modernist abstraction and political commitment. Active in the international art scene since the 1960s, she has exhibited widely and is recognized as one of the most important living Palestinian artists.
In 1981, Halaby participated in Palestinian Artists, an exhibition organized at Kunstnernes Hus that brought together artists from Palestine and the diaspora. The exhibition was an important act of cultural solidarity at a time when Palestinian voices were often excluded from Western art institutions.
This conversation, led by Kunstnernes Hus' director Sarah Lookofsky, offers a rare opportunity to revisit that moment in light of today’s artistic and political landscape — and to hear Halaby’s reflections on art’s role in movements for justice and liberation.
Kunstnernes Hus thanks the Munch Museum for facilitating Samia Halaby’s visit to Oslo in connection with her receipt of the Munch Award.
This event is part of the series Frihetsrommet, reflecting on the role of art and artists in society, supported by the Fritt Ord Foundation.
