The Munch Museum in Oslo announced Tuesday that Palestinian artist Samia Halaby is the second recipient of the Munch Award, which honors artistic freedom of expression.
The award, inaugurated last year, carries a prize of 300,000 Norwegian krones (around $30,000) and recognizes artists for their “long-standing courage and integrity.”
The museum, which houses the world’s largest collection of works by Edvard Munch, said Halaby was selected for her “long-term commitment to protesting injustices related to class, gender, and race.”
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“Honoring Samia Halaby means celebrating not only her artistic career but also her commitment to art as a voice for justice and change,” Munch director Tone Hansen said in a statement. “At a time when artistic voices are increasingly silenced, it is crucial that museums use their platforms to support and amplify them.”
This year’s jury included Hansen; artist and curator Wanda Nanibush; Yvette Mutumba, cofounder of the art magazine Contemporary And; Cosmin Costinas, curator at Haus der Kulturen der Welt in Berlin; and Munch Museum curator Tominga O’Donnell.
The jury noted that Halaby “has been a vocal critic of censorship in the arts for decades, which she herself has faced, and overcome.” The inaugural Munch Award went last year to Brazilian artist Rosana Paulino, who said she would use the funds to create the Rosana Paulino Institute in São Paulo, dedicated to the impact of the Black image in Brazilian society.
Halaby has not yet said how she will use the prize money.