Museum of Modern Egyptian Art to be inaugurated in Egypt’s Opera on Nov. 25

CAIRO – 25 November 2020: Egypt’s Minister of Culture Inas Abdel Dayem is preparing for the opening of the exhibition of the Museum of Modern, at Cairo Opera House, set to be held on November 25, in the presence of Khaled Sorour, head of the Fine Arts Sector.

The last event that took place in the Museum of Modern Egyptian Art was in June 2019, when the 13th Cairo International Art Biennial was inaugurated.

As for the origins of the museum, the beginning was in 1927 when Mohammad Mahmoud Khalil proposed establishing a museum that would include works of art, which were treasures from his point of view.

Although Khalil is not a plastic artist, he is considered one of the most influential figures in modern Egyptian art.

In 1936, the museum moved to Al-Bustan Street in Tahrir Square, and after that it was moved to the Palace of Count Zgheib on Qasr El-Nil Street in Tahrir Square.

In 1966, as a result of the demolition of the previous museum building, its holdings were transferred to Ismail Pasha Abul Fotouh's villa in the Dokki neighborhood in Giza.

In 1983 Sarai 3 was allocated to the Opera House (which was then the fairground in Cairo) in order to be the headquarters of the new museum. The Sarai was established in the Islamic style.

The Museum of Modern Egyptian Art has been closed for 10 years. Work in it was held in a contemporary and different way to host the Cairo Biennale, and its return is one of the most prominent challenges that the Ministry of Culture faced, especially in the recent period amid the COVID-19 epidemic.