The Boissonnas and Egypt conference will present different perspectives on the context of 1920s Egypt in relation to Boissonnas’s work and explore wider debates around photography and cultural geography. The conference will be followed by a private view of the Boissonnas in Egypt exhibition from 17.30-19.30.
Speakers include:
- Professor Oriana Baddeley (University of the Arts London)
- Dr George Manginis (Benaki Museum)
- Dr Christina Riggs (University of East Anglia)
- Dr Ahmed Shams (Durham University)
- Dr Estelle Sohier (Université de Genève)
University of the Arts London are pleased to offer Knowledge Quarter partners reduced student priced tickets at £10.00 (normal ticket price is £35.00), please click here to book your place.
Lunch and refreshments are included in the ticket price.
www.saintcatherinefoundation.org
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The Boissonnas in Egypt exhibition
Fred Boissonnas (1858-1946) was invited to Egypt in 1929 by King Fuad I to take photographs for the lavish publication L’Egypte (1932), and he returned to complete his Egyptian journey in 1933. During the later trip he embarked on a photographic expedition to Mount Sinai, following the route of the Israelites as recorded in the book of Exodus, and photographing the traditional biblical sites that he encountered on his journey. This work became the book project he never finished. Boissonnas in Egypt focuses on the photographic work for both books, visually exploring the complex histories of the newly formed ‘modern’ state (following Britain’s unilateral declaration of Egyptian independence) and the photographer’s own search for inspiration in the deserts of Sinai.