January 18–March 17, 2012
Barbara + Steven Grossman Gallery
Mrs. E. Ross Anderson Auditorium
230 The Fenway, Boston, MA
Hours:
Mon–Sat, 10 am–5 pm
Thurs 10 am–8 pm
Closed Sundays and holidays
Egypt’s recent social and political upheaval, which continues to unfold daily, marks one of the most important cultural shifts to occur in modern Egyptian history. More important, however, is the culture that existed prior to these events and the innumerable questions concerning the country’s political and cultural future. Opening this winter during the one year anniversary of the first mass protests in Tahrir Square, “Histories of Now: Six Artists from Cairo,” organized by the School of the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston (SMFA), brings together work by some of the most inspiring and influential artists working in Egypt today: Mohamed Abla, Ahmed Basiony, Hala Elkoussy, Shady El Noshokaty, Sabah Naim, Moataz Nasr.
On view January 18–March 17, 2012, this exhibitionis an intimate investigation of the complex social framework and collective formal engagements currently being explored by Egyptian artists. With many of these artists exhibiting in the northeast region of the United States for the first time, “Histories of Now” introduces viewers to the diversity of voices, concerns and approaches—both material and conceptual—found in today’s Cairo; six artists presenting six contrasting visions, united only by context, creative discipline and geographic proximity.
Among the works on view in the exhibition is 30 Days of Running in the Place (2011), a three-channel video installation by Egyptian-born Ahmed Basiony (1978–2011), who was killed in the violent uprising in Tahrir Square in January 2010, edited by Shady El Noshokaty for the Egyptian Pavilion of the 54th Venice Biennale.
RELATED EVENTS
January 23, 6–8 pm
Grossman Gallery + Anderson Auditorium, SMFA
Opening reception, free and open to the public
January 25, 6:30 pm
Remis Auditorium, Museum of Fine Arts, Boston
The Deborah and Martin Hale Visiting Artist Lecture: Contemporary Art and the New Egyptian Identity
A multimedia lecture and performance by Shady El Noshokaty
15 USD, MFA members, students, seniors; 18 USD, non-members
January 31, 12:30 pm
Alfond Auditorium, Museum of Fine Arts, Boston
Screening of Nadia Kamel’s film Salata Baladi (An Egyptian Salad)
Free with Museum admission
February 9, 12–2 pm
Alfond Auditorium, Museum of Fine Arts, Boston
Screening of Tahani Rached’s film These Girls (El-Banate Dol)
Free with Museum admission
February 21, 12:30 pm
Alfond Auditorium, Museum of Fine Arts, Boston
Lecture with participating artist, Mohamed Abla
Free with Museum admission
For more information about the artists and related events, visit www.smfa.edu/egypt.
About the School of the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston:
Founded in 1876 and accredited by the National Association of Schools of Art and Design, the School of the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston (SMFA), is one of only three art schools in the country affiliated with a major museum—the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston. Our mission is to provide an education in the fine arts—for undergraduate and graduate artists—that is interdisciplinary and self-directed. This education values cultural, artistic and intellectual diversity; it embraces a wide range of media; it stresses the development of individual vision and its relation to culture in general; it values equally the knowledge gained by thinking and doing; it is deeply engaged with the world as a whole. If the mission is constant, its practice is always transforming. For more information about our programs and partnerships, visit www.smfa.edu.
