Contexts of Egyptian Art During the First Half of the Twentieth Century By Prof. Dr. Yasser Mongy
Event Timing:  Monday, May 12, 2025, at 5:00 PM Berlin time / 6:00 PM Cairo time / 8:00 PM Muscat time.
Event Type:  Virtual Via Zoom
Contact : hala.ghoname@tu-dresden.de

Yasser Ibrahim Mohamed Mongy (b. 1972) is an Egyptian academic, visual artist, and specialist in graphic arts. He earned his Bachelor's degree in Graphic Arts from the Faculty of Fine Arts, Helwan University (1996), followed by a Master's degree (2003) exploring the artistic treatment of death in printmaking, and a Ph.D. in Philosophy (2006) focusing on graphic representations of the devil and metaphysical symbols of evil. Currently an Associate Professor in the Department of Graphic Arts at Helwan University's Faculty of Fine Arts, Prof. Dr. Mongy has presented three solo exhibitions and is an active participant in Egypt’s contemporary art scene, contributing to numerous national and international exhibitions and festivals. His curatorial and critical expertise has also been recognized through appointments to various juries for Arab art and criticism competitions. He served as Secretary of the Fine Arts Committee at Egypt’s Supreme Council of Culture until 2014, and since 2008, has been a contributing expert to the Civilization Lexicon project at the Academy of the Arabic Language. In 2014, he was appointed as a research and documentation consultant at the Arab Museum of Modern Art (Mathaf) in Doha. Since 2019, he has been seconded to Sultan Qaboos University in Oman, where he teaches art history and criticism in the Department of Art Education. Prof. Dr. Mongy has authored over twenty scholarly publications, primarily focused on art history, visual culture, and criticism. His writings—spanning topics in art, literature, heritage studies, documentation, and museology—have appeared in numerous Arab newspapers, academic journals, and digital platforms. His literary and critical output includes fiction, theoretical works on visual arts, and cultural critique, with notable titles such as Artists and Heretics: Hidden Codes in the Works of Art Pioneers and The Project of Modernity in Arab Visual Arts. He is the recipient of multiple accolades, including the Grand Prize at the 10th Youth Salon (1998) and the Sharjah Award for Visual Art Criticism (2008, 2009), reflecting his dual impact as both a practicing artist and a critical voice in the Arab art world.

This Event is part of 
Brushstrokes & Revolutions
A lecture series on modern and contemporary Egyptian art.
April, 28- July, 14, 2025
Organised by 
Dr. Hala H. Ghoname
Maria Reiche Fellow 
Image Science in a Global Context
Former Member of the Guest Professors Program for the Promotion of Women in Science and Research at Saxon Universities
Faculty of Philosophy, Institute for Art and Music Studies
Technical University Dresden
August-Bebel-Str. 20, Raum 208
01219 Dresde
-------------------------------

Modern and contemporary Egyptian art has long been shaped by a dynamic interplay of local heritage, international influences, and socio-political change. From its inception, it has served as both a reflection of and a response to key historical moments, embodying the nation's quest for identity, independence, and cultural revival. As Egyptian art critic, writer, and former Minister of Culture Badr Al-Din Abou Ghazi (1920–1983) observed in 1956, modern Egyptian art was not an isolated phenomenon but a "national inevitability," deeply embedded in the fabric of society and influenced by the country's political struggles (Ghazi, 1956, p. 114). Similarly, artist Liliane Karnouk highlighted the role of art in shaping national consciousness and articulating post-independence aspirations (Karnouk, 1988, p. 1). 

Throughout the 20th and 21st centuries, Egyptian art has functioned as a visual archive, tracing the nation's evolution from 19th-century modernization and European-inspired reforms to the rise of nationalism, the fight against British occupation, the socialist era, and Nasserist Pan-Arabism—and reaching to the 2011 Revolution and the post-Arab Spring period. Yet, despite its significance, the political and social narratives embedded in this art remain underexplored. Beyond documenting artistic trends and styles, these works provide insight into themes of urban transformation, activism, and shifting cultural identities. 

This lecture series examines the diverse historical and visual cultural dimensions of modern and contemporary Egyptian art, contextualizing it within broader discourses of identity, politics, and social change. Additionally, the talks will explore its role in transcultural exchange, international diplomacy, soft power, and cultural safeguarding, offering non-European perspectives and narratives, besides highlighting Egypt's place within a global artistic dialogue.

Sign in to Google to save your progress. Learn more
Full Name *
Title *
Email *
Organization *
Submit
Clear form
Never submit passwords through Google Forms.
This content is neither created nor endorsed by Google. - Terms of Service - Privacy Policy

Does this form look suspicious? Report

Google Forms