Rounwah Adly Riyadh Bseiso: Revolutionary Art or “Revolutionising Art”? Making Art on the Streets of Cairo

In her article, written for the Arab Media and Society journal in 2017 Bseiso responds to the question posed by Surti Singh, assistant professor of Philosophy at AUC “Can art still preserve the revolutionary spirit that spilled out in the graffiti and murals that covered Egypt’s streets?  Should this even be art’s focus?”  (Singh cited in Bseiso, 2017)

Bseiso, acknowledges the scale of debate around contemporary art in Egypt in 2017, citing the artist Ganzeer, who raised concerns over the west-leaning art styles being adopted by artists who considered themselves cutting edge, but whose work was not relatable to a great many Egyptians. A style of art that Bseiso considered to be “rather anti-revolutionary”.

Bseiso also cites philosopher and writer Shehab Fakhry Ismail, who argues that many revolutionary artists (meaning artists of the revolution) fail to see their work as art, but rather as subversive commentary. Ismail contends that they should modify the vocabulary of their art in order to shake up the art establishment from its unthinking complacency.

Bseiso describes these arguments as cyclical in Egyptian art, where what aesthetic styles best serve the revolution are vigorously debated. She suggests that the way that art is thought of in Egypt is changing and its transition is being brought about by cultural producers who are revolutionising revolutionary art. The wisdom of this statement is apparent, art worlds continually evolve, The Egyptian political landscape was evolving in 2017 and contemporary Egyptian artists were migrating away from the cultural and religious models previously handed down by the authorities.

In her conclusion, she states, “The uprising did not simply add labels to subversive cultural forms (i.e. “revolutionary” art, “revolutionary” music, “revolutionary” film), its cultural producers altered the very way art was thought of an approached” (Bseiso, 2017).

I understand from this that Egyptian cultural art, which had before the revolution been strictly controlled, is now able to grow and develop into new avenues of expression that reflect contemporary life in the country. This is an eminently good thing, because if culture does not change following political change then the importance of the political change is diminished.

Rounwah Adly Riyadh Bseiso is an educator and researcher who holds a PhD from SOAS, University of London, UK. Her main interests lie in issues relating to media and political practices, human rights law & international development, and the decolonization of knowledge in the S.W.A.N.A. (South West Asian/North African) region. Her academic writing has been published in peer-reviewed collections such as Narrating Conflict in the Middle East: Discourse, Image and Communications Practices in Lebanon and Palestine (I.B. Tauris cited in Bloomsbury, n.d.).

BLOOMSBURY, n.d. Rounwah Adly Riyadh Bseiso [Viewed 30/10/2024]. Available from: https://www.bloomsbury.com/uk/author/rounwah-adly-riyadh-bseiso/

BSEISO, R. A. H., 2017. Revolutionary Art or “Revolutionising Art”? Making Art on the Streets of Cairo [Viewed 30/10/2024]. Available from: https://www.arabmediasociety.com/revolutionary-art-or-revolutonizing-art-making-art-on-the-streets-of-cairo/

BSEISO, R. A. H., 2018. Revolutionary art during and after the Egyptian revolution: liminality and creativity PhD thesis [Viewed 30/10/2024]. Available from: https://doi.org/10.25501/SOAS.00030289