Palestinian Life from 1948 to 1998 (exhibition)
Date: 2002
Region: North America
Subject: Political/Economic/Social Opinion
Medium: Photography
Artist: Exhibition of documentary photos, sponsored by Arab American Arts Council and the American Friends Service Committee
Confronting Bodies: Pat. Michalski, assistant to Gov. Ryan on ethnic affairs
Dates of Action: June, 2002
Location: Thompson Center, Chicago, IL
Description of Artwork: Photos showed the lives of Palestinians from 1948 to 1998, including images of a woman and her little girl burying someone, an Israeli tank pointed at a YMCA building with Arabic writing on it, a child holding a handkerchief across his face at the Sarba and Chatilla refugee camp in Beirut, a body carried through the streets of Bethlehem.
The Incident: All but eight of the 50 original pictures of the installation were removed within an hour of their hanging. Pat Michalski, assistant to Gov. Ryan on ethnic affairs, said she removed the pictures because they were “anti-Israeli.”
Results of Incident: The removed photos were reinstalled one day after they were pulled, because the senior staff decided that the exhibit should be seen in its entirety.
Source: Chicago Sun-Times, NCAC
