Samia Halaby is a Palestinian-American artist, educator, scholar, and activist widely recognized as a pioneering figure in contemporary abstract art. Halaby’s work draws inspiration from nature, movement, and the visual cultures of both the Middle East and Western modernism, blending influences from early Islamic architecture, geometric abstraction, and urban dynamics into vibrant and dynamic paintings. Her practice has also included digital and kinetic art, exploring computer-based and programmed work since the 1980s.