Collectors and artists withdraw works from Barbican textile exhibition over cancelled lecture series

On February 28, collectors Lorenzo Legarda Leviste and Fahad Mayet took two quilts by Loretta Pettway, a Gee's Bend artist, from the Barbican's exhibition titled Unravel: The Power and Politics of Textile in Art. Their action was a protest against the cancellation of a London Review of Books Winter Lecture Series event featuring Pankaj Mishra, which was named 'The Shoah after Gaza'. The Barbican attributed the cancellation to a lack of preparation time for such sensitive material, which was subsequently held at St James Church in Clerkenwell. In solidarity with Palestine, the museum displayed an empty plinth with a statement about the withdrawal. Artists Yto Barrada and Cian Dayrit also withdrew their works, criticizing censorship. Barrada insisted on the importance of open debate regarding the Gaza conflict and requested that her reason for withdrawal be made public. Barbican CEO Claire Spencer expressed regret, recognizing the issues surrounding artistic freedom amid the humanitarian crisis. This incident follows previous accusations against the Barbican, including directives to avoid discussing Palestine during a cancelled talk by Elias Anastas of Radio Alhara, for which the museum later issued a public apology.