Lecture by Dina A.Ramadan :: August 2, 2009; 7:00 - 9:00 pm :: Alexandria Contemporary Arts Forum (ACAF), 10 Hussein Hassab Street, Flat 6, Azarita, Alexandria, Egypt.

Dina A. Ramadan’s contribution to ‘A.K.A. EDUCATION?’ will examine the role that art education has historically played in producing artists and imagining art audiences in Egypt. That the dominant narrative of the ‘birth’ of modern Egyptian art history is so indebted to the existence of an academic institution- the founding of the School of Fine Arts in Cairo by Prince Yusuf Kamal in 1908- is by no means coincidental, but in fact extremely telling. A mapping of multiple ways in which this educational project manifests itself therefore becomes particularly pertinent.

What were some of the educational functions that art was intended to fulfill during this period? How, if at all, were artists professionalized? What was the place occupied by the public artist in the early 20th century? What institutional structures were involved in producing the public persona of the artist? How can we situate these within the larger cultural and intellectual discourses of the period? What are some of the transformations that we have witnessed in this role in recent decades? In light of this historical trajectory, how can we approach questions of art and education within the contemporary context?

DINA A. RAMADAN

Dina A. Ramadan is a cultural historian and PhD candidate in the Department of Middle East and Asian Languages and Cultures at Columbia University. Her earlier research focused on the exhibition and representation of Middle Eastern artists in Western art capitals. Her dissertation research is concerned with the development of the category of modern art in Egypt and its role in the production of the modern Egyptian subject. She has published in Arab Studies Journal, Art Journal, Journal of Visual Culture, and Middle East Studies Association Bulletin. She is a founding member of the Association for Modern and Contemporary Art of the Arab World, Iran and Turkey (AMCA).

The ‘A.K.A. Education?’ program is supported by The Embassy of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, Cairo and Pro Helvetia, Cairo