Gaza art exhibition cancelled at UHI Moray

The Opening of the Fragile Pot, a group exhibition featuring Palestinian, Israeli and UK artists and addressing the suffering of Palestinians in Gaza, was due to open at the Moray School of Art gallery, UHI in Elgin. The show had been arranged over several months, following an offer of the space by the college in summer 2023, and included work by the Gaza-based Palestinian artist Feda'a Al-Hassanet. It was cancelled by the university with one week's notice.

A UHI spokeswoman said the college had only recently become aware that some of the promotional material referred to what could be regarded as a « partisan » viewpoint, and indicated that hosting the exhibition might be seen as endorsing one position on the Israel–Hamas war without balance. The statement framed this against the institution's obligations as a registered charity to promote learning in an inclusive way while supporting academic freedom and artistic expression.

The curator, artist Georgina Porteous, rejected that characterisation, arguing that it was absurd to treat an exhibition drawing attention to conditions in Gaza as partisan following the International Court of Justice's finding of "plausible" genocide.

The exhibition went ahead instead at WASPS Links Studios in Nairn, running from 17 February to the end of the month.