Thread by @GawadHeba

#MuseumsUnlocked is full of fascinating yet frozen in time & place #Egypt

This #Egypt is exclusive & imagined. One you only see behind #Museums' glass display cases or digital screens

Not the vibrant full of contrasts #Egypt living in & within ancient & modern Egyptians 👇

Egypt is a multi-layer of living histories buzzing with changing power, people, and places. Too complex to be captured in a still brushed image of "iconic monument"...

It has the pharaohs but most importantly the ordinary people whose sweat & blood built it...

It has its own brand of heritage superheroes...

....and @qaheracomic @itsdeenasaur Qahera its own brand of female superheroes defying Egyptian social stigmas & Western stereotypes...

Its burdens are usually carried by its ordinary women NOT the NEFERTITI'S....

...so are its revolutions led by its working class women. Like factory worker Wedad el Demerdash whose 2006 strike chants sparked civil movements leading to 2011 revolution...

It also has its own style of feminism where disguising as a man for forty years to be "one of them" is a form of activism. Just like Luxor's female shoe shiner Sissa 👇..

Much earlier than the West's #MeToo #Egypt's women championed anti-sexual harassment move. Like visual artist Mira Shehadah who took Cairo's walls as her battleground spraying away male harassers with her bold "No to Harassment" graffiti...

BUT #Egypt's strength lies in its invincible sense of humour & self-mock. This is what has always kept Egypt and #Egyptians going despite all struggles...

These views & voices of #Egypt are silenced in #Museums where Egypt is a Western single-layered concept not a country.
Our podcast discusses how #Museums are not neutral. How communities end up being displaced & disguised to retain"their Egypt"concept 👉nms.ac.uk/collections-re…

How can we ethically challenge & change these colonial legacies?
Partnering with #Egyptian artists e.g @MoiraAdel 👇 community schools & cultural orgs, 5 UK museums & @TheEES :@aliceestevenson & I 'Egypt's Dispersed Heritage'@ahrcpress @excavatedegypt @UCLarchaeology finds out

Counting on #Egypt young talent, unfailing humour, & social media hype, we partnered with @Nasser_Junior releasing "Nasser, Heba, & Egypt's Dispersed Heritage" #comics series to engage #Egyptian audiences with ancient Egyptian collections & controversies in UK museums...

For more on how @Nasser_Junior & I have been co-producing the #comicstrip without meeting even once in real time! & our hilarious back scene dialogue on ancient Egypt, memes, & @Nasser_Junior guide to being funny tune in to our @digi_hammurabi interview 👇

How can we address these legacies in UK & amplify #Egyptian voices in our 5 UK Museum partners & @TheEES ?
Join @aliceestevenson & I @TheEES free live online lectures & public discussion:

28 May, 5pm; 2 June, 11am ees.ac.uk/Event/egypts-d…

12 June, 5pm ees.ac.uk/event/online-d…