Art, Gender and Revolution in Egypt

AbstractThis project discusses the role Egyptian women have been playing in shaping the social and political landscape of their country during the last decade, but particularly in the aftermath of the January 2011 revolution. It specifically examines the work independent women artists have been creating to keep the dialogue open, and to increase awareness about women’s issues as well as human rights in general. Through examination of design, graffiti, music, and filmmaking created during this revolutionary period, and through field research carried out by the author in Cairo, the project looks at how some women artists have used their art to transform the social and political norms of women’s roles within their society, while confronting the threat of a religious setback compounded with other socio-cultural issues with which women struggle in conservative Egyptian society.