An exhibition about Palestinian identity and cultural heritage slated to open on January 17 at the Lower Manhattan arts nonprofit Apexart was postponed indefinitely in what the show’s curator and its featured artists, all of whom are Palestinian-American, say is a continuation of the anti-Palestinian bias seen across Western arts programming since October 7, 2023.
Slated to run through March 15 at Apexart’s 291 Church Street location, On my Fingertips was one of five proposed shows that won the organization’s open call for group exhibitions in October 2023, after it was approved by over 600 jurors. Centering historical symbols and cultural memories tied to Palestinian storytelling traditions, the show was set to include video, performance, installation, and tactile artworks by artists Leila Awadallah, Yasmine Omari, and Kiki Salem that would “present folklore not as a relic of the past but as a vital, living aspect of these artists’ identities,” according to its original proposal.
After over a year of planning, curator Noel Maghathe submitted a text for the show’s brochure to Apexart early last December. The text made three references to Israel’s ongoing bombardments against Gaza, classifying the escalation as a genocide, a characterization backed by multiple human rights organizations.
These mentions of Israel’s attacks had not been previously included in the initial proposal, which was drafted before Hamas’s October 7 attack, but Maghathe and the artists felt that they were crucial context for the exhibition.
“We cannot discuss the folklore of our heritage without acknowledging the ongoing erasure of our cultural history, land, and people,” the submitted brochure text read. “As the ongoing genocide in Gaza surpasses a year, these artists respond to this moment with a sense of duty, reflecting on the pain and an enduring, subconscious connection to the land.”
In response to the submitted text, Apexart’s Executive Director Steven Rand requested via email that Maghathe change “genocide” to “ongoing military action in Gaza,” and further stated that Apexart was “unable to deviate from your initial proposal to include political opinion.”
Encouraging Maghathe to “rework the essay to include both sides of the argument,” Rand also removed a paragraph from the text that discussed the destruction of Palestinian cultural heritage sites and the over 45,000 Palestinians who have been killed by Israel’s relentless bombardments on Gaza since October 2023.
Reached for comment by Hyperallergic, Rand said the text was rejected because it was significantly different from the original proposal, which goes against the open call’s stated rules.
“Noel [Maghathe] decided subsequently to make her show about the political situation in Gaza, rather than the proposed exhibition,” Rand said in an email. “We understand things change but significant changes from the original proposal are not allowed by our stated rules.”
In response to this point, Maghathe said she told Rand that the submitted brochure text did not deviate from the original proposal, but rather incorporated necessary context that was integral to the exhibition’s themes as the destruction of heritage sites and loss of Palestinian life is directly connected to folklore and the continued existence of Palestinian cultural identity.
When Maghathe and the exhibition’s artists asked for a virtual meeting to have a direct conversation about the brochure text, Rand responded that it was “best to postpone the exhibition at this time” and that the organization could not provide future dates as their exhibition schedule is booked through the end of 2026.
“This is not a situation of censorship but rather of maintaining our integrity,” Rand said, adding that Maghathe “chose not to do the show as submitted.” and told her they’d “revisit” it in 2026.
“We are clearly quite sympathetic to the situation and I understand and respect her right to self expression,” Rand continued. “We are an educational organization, not an editorial venue and Noel was treated as anyone would be in the same situation.”
However, Maghathe and the artists disagree that their suggested additions equated to a modification of the initially approved proposal. Omari, who was going to show two abstract installations made in her studio in Ramallah that reflected on her personal return to Palestine, told Hyperallergic that the destruction of Gaza is not “political,” but rather integral to her work, which is based in cultural identity and heritage.
“For us, as Palestinians, our own existence is just automatically political in the eyes of Americans and Westerners,” Omari said.
This week, a ceasefire deal and hostage exchange between Israeli and Hamas officials was reportedly approved, although Israel’s military has continued to launch deadly strikes on Gaza amid negotiations. The deal is anticipated to go into effect on Sunday, January 19, and last for six weeks.
“This exhibition being postponed is directly connected to the ongoing censorship of Palestinians at this moment speaking on our lived truths and the ongoing genocide,” Maghathe told Hyperallergic.
“For this [brochure] to be implied as a personal political opinion is disappointing and diminishes the fact of what has been happening for the last 15 months and the past 77 years,” Maghathe concluded.
