Yugoslav–Egyptian cultural relationsTepina, Daša (Avtor) Non-Aligned MovementInternational Biennial of Graphic Arts in LjubljanaAlexandria Biennial for Mediterranean CountriesEgyptYugoslaviaThe aim of the paper is to explore how the Non-Aligned Movement influenced the cultural relations between Yugoslavia and Egypt in the 1960s and 1970s and to clarify how this impacted the reception of fine art originating from the non-aligned countries in the former Yugoslavia (FPRY/SFRY). As one of the founding members of the Non-Aligned Movement, the country—then named FPRY—was gaining increasing importance and prestige in the international political arena through its international policies. We will be tracing cultural policies by examining three premises that characterise both the politics of Yugoslavia and the politics of the Non-Aligned Movement: anti-colonialism, anti-imperialist struggles and decolonisation; the politics of non-involvement and peaceful coexistence, and finally the Yugoslav self-management. In the text we demonstrate how these fundamental principles of non-alignment were expressed in the area of artistic practices in individual artistic intersections, namely Ljubljana and Alexandria. Our central focus will be the 1960s and early 1970s, which is when the founding and the bulk of the activities of the Non-Aligned Movement took place. We will be examining the case of two central art venues that served as important intersections of cultural, as well as political international relations between Egypt and Yugoslavia. These artistic manifestations are the Ljubljana International Biennial of Graphic Arts (MGB) and the Alexandria Biennial for Mediterranean Countries, both of which were founded in 1955. The influence of cultural policies will also be explored in more depth, as the focus of our interest is in how the principles of non-alignment were reflected in the work of individual artists from the UAR who exhibited at the MGB. With this in mind, we will be examining the opus of artist Menhat Allah Helmy at the MGB. The text presents an overview of the political background of the biennials, which it examines mainly through an analysis of archival materials from the Archive of Yugoslavia and the archives of the International Centre of Graphic Arts in Ljubljana. While it is mainly based on an analysis of material from the Commission for Cultural Relations with Foreign Countries fund and the cultural agreements and conventions on cooperation established between Yugoslavia and Egypt, it also draws on structured interviews with contemporary actors and the existing literature.20232023-09-13 14:45:14Drugo150077sl