Yugoslav–Egyptian cultural relations : a case study of art intersections in Ljubljana and Alexandria in the 1960s and 1970s

Tepina, Daša (author)

The 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.

• Language: English
• Keywords: Non-Aligned Movement, International Biennial of Graphic Arts in Ljubljana, Alexandria Biennial for Mediterranean Countries, Egypt, Yugoslavia
• Work type: Other
• Typology: 1.16 - Independent Scientific Component Part or a Chapter in a Monograph
• Organization: ALUO - Academy of Fine Arts and Design
• Publication status: Published
• Publication version: Version of Record
• Year: 2023
• Number of pages: Str. 199-221, 257-258, 266-267
• PID: 20.500.12556/RUL-150077
• UDC: 304:7.036(497.1)
• DOI: 10.51938/9789612971427
• COBISS.SI-ID: 164317699
• Publication date in RUL: 13.09.2023

Record is a part of a monograph

• Title: The culture of the non-aligned : the clash of cultural and political narratives
• Editors: Barbara Predan, Daša Tepina
• Place of publishing: Ljubljana
• Publisher: University of Ljubljana Press
• Year: 2023
• ISBN: 978-961-297-143-4
• COBISS.SI-ID: 160144899

Licences

• License: CC BY-SA 4.0, Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International
• Link: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/
• Description: This Creative Commons license is very similar to the regular Attribution license, but requires the release of all derivative works under this same license.

Secondary language

• Language: Slovenian
• Title: Jugoslovansko-egipčanski kulturni odnosi : na primeru likovnih prizorišč v Ljubljani in Aleksandriji v šestdesetih in sedemdesetih letih 20. stoletja

Abstract

Cilj prispevka je preučiti vplive gibanja neuvrščenih v kulturnih odnosih med nekdanjo Jugoslavijo in Egiptom v šestdesetih in sedemdesetih letih ter razumeti, kako so ti vplivali na recepcijo likovne umetnosti neuvrščenih v nekdanji Jugoslaviji (FNRJ/SFRJ). Tedanja FNRJ je kot ena izmed ustanovnih članic gibanja neuvrščenih s svojimi mednarodnimi politikami vedno bolj pridobivala pomen in ugled v mednarodnem političnem prostoru. Kulturnim politikam sledimo s preučevanjem treh premis, ki zaznamujejo tako politiko Jugoslavije kot tudi politiko gibanja neuvrščenih. Te so protikolonializem, protiimperialni boji in dekolonizacija; politika nevmešavanja in miroljubne koeksistence ter jugoslovansko samoupravljanje. V besedilu pokažemo, kako se ta temeljna načela gibanja neuvrščenih izražajo na področju umetniških praks v posameznih umetnostnih stičiščih, v Ljubljani in Aleksandriji. Zaradi ustanovitve in delovanja gibanja neuvrščenih so naš osrednji fokus šestdeseta in zgodnja sedemdeseta leta prejšnjega stoletja. Obravnavamo primer dveh osrednjih likovnih prizorišč, ki sta pomembni točki prepletanja kulturnih, pa tudi političnih mednarodnih odnosov med Egiptom in Jugoslavijo. Ti likovni manifestaciji sta ljubljanski Mednarodni grafični bienale (MGB) ter Mediteranski bienale likovne umetnosti v Aleksandriji, obe nastali v letu 1955. Vpliv kulturnih politik preučimo tudi globlje, saj nas zanima, kako so načela neuvrščenih odzvanjala tudi v delih posameznih umetnikov iz ZAR, ki so razstavljali na MGB. S tem namenom preučimo opus umetnice Menhat Allah Helmy na MGB. Besedilo obsega pregled bienalnih politik, ki jih preučuje predvsem z analizo materialov arhivskega gradiva Arhiva Jugoslavije in Mednarodnega grafičnega likovnega centra v Ljubljani. Zlasti izhaja iz analize fonda Komisije za kulturne stike s tujino in vzpostavljenih kulturnih sporazumov ter konvencij o sodelovanju med Jugoslavijo in Egiptom. Navezuje pa se tudi na strukturirane intervjuje s tedanjimi akterji in obstoječo literaturo.

• Keywords: Gibanje neuvrščenih, Ljubljanski grafični bienale, Mediteranski bienale likovnih umetnosti v Aleksandriji, Egipt, Jugoslavija

Projects

• Funder: ARIS - Slovenian Research and Innovation Agency
• Project number: J7-2606
• Name: Modeli in prakse mednarodne kulturne izmenjave Gibanja neuvrščenih: raziskovanje prostorsko-časovnih kulturnih dinamik