Art Berlin Senate

A Jewish Artist Leaving Berlin Over Political Repression Just Had Her Final Exhibition Cancelled

Liad Hussein Kantorowicz was told her farewell exhibition would no longer take place, in what she calls "a clear case of political persecution."

Nathaniel Flakin

June 19, 2026

Wikimedia Commons

"Yallah Bye." After 16 years, artist Liad Hussein Kantorowicz is saying goodbye to Berlin. Kantorowicz is leaving as a result of the Rechtsruck (political shift to the right) and the ongoing restrictions of political and artistic freedom. And in a final irony, those restrictions are disrupting her departure.

As part of her farewell to the city, Kantorowicz was set to open a retrospective exhibition on Sunday at Pink Dot Life, a queer gallery in Prenzlauer Berg. But on Thursday, the announcement disappeared from the venue's website. Kantorowicz later got a call that her exhibition was cancelled.

The irony is that the exhibition has nothing to do with Palestine or Israel.

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