press clips
summer academy
currently on
workshops
activities archive



 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

April, 3, 2000 (Jordan Times)
Excerpt from Farah Beisha's article
"Art from the Nile"


The Met, the MOMA, the Victoria and Albert Museum . These are the images of institutions that one conjures up upon hearing the word museum. Although Darat Al Funun "little house of arts" is small in scale, it is just as important an art institution.

Since its inception in 1993, the non-profit making Darat Al Funun , with Suha Shoman at its helm, has been fostering numerous art exhibitions and artists in its quest for "the promotion of the fine arts, through the creation of cultural and creative dialogue amongst the people of the Arab world, thereby, strengthening the vitality and appreciation of contemporary Arab artists, through the use of today's visual expression, in order for the Arab arts to take its deserved place as a corner stone in the building of contemporary Arab culture"

In 1978, the Arab Bank established the Abdul Hameed Shoman Foundation , with the aim of propagating the idea that "artistic creativity is a key determinant of a peoples identity, culture, and history".

The most recent exhibition, entitled "Artists from the Nile and the Sudan", is a part of a lengthy celebration of The Arab Bank anniversary.

A sense of national identity and pride in their Pharonic heritage characterizes the Egyptian art in display this fact can be clearly seen in the works of Abdel Wahab Mursi . His "Pharonic melodies" stands as a testament to the ancient Pharonic pictograms.

The exhibition also includes the sculptures of the late Egyptian pioneer, Mahmoud Mukhtar, who transformed his art into a tool of defiance against occupying British rule, in the 1919 Egyptian revolution. "Ibn al Balad" , a bronze sculpture can be characterized as having both a caricature and sinister look….

press clips
summer academy
currently on
workshops
activities archive

place | activities | resource | people

site map | home | contact us | search | help