الأمة تصويرًا ونحتًا. الرواد ونهضة الفنون الجميلة والتطبيقية في مصر 1908-1938 (Painting and Sculpting the Nation: Pioneers of the Renaissance of Fine Arts and Applied Arts in Egypt 1908-1938)
Cairo: National Center for Translation, Social Science Researches Series, 2019
In early 20th century Egypt, painters and sculptors were trained in art institutions created on the European model, such as the Cairo School of Fine Arts founded in 1908. Commonly referred to as the "pioneers" (al-ruwwad), these artists practiced new techniques and genres, such as oil painting, landscape or nude, while at the same time facing the challenge of contributing to the national project of the cultural renewal, in which the notion of "Fine Arts" (al-funun al-jamila), as thought and defined by the West, emerged as a necessity. What were the politics underlying the establishment of art institutions in Egypt? Who were the intermediaries between artists and the public? Through what networks did pictorial models circulate between Egypt and Europe? The translation of this PhD dissertation into Arabic by the National Center for Translation in Cairo is dedicated to all Egyptian artists, students and scholars, who are interested in Egyptian modernism.
"The Arab Apocalypse. Art, Abstraction & Activism in the Middle East"
Ed. by Silvia Naef & Nadia Radwan, "The Arab Apocalypse. Art, Abstraction & Activism in the Middle East", Manazir Journal, 1 (Autumn 2019), published online 25 October 2019.
This first issue of Manazir Journal originates in the exhibition dedicated to the Lebanese-American artist, poet and writer Etel Adnan held at the Zentrum Paul Klee in Bern in 2018 and the related symposium. It illustrates how artists, in the Arab world, connected abstraction and political activism, in a search that ties visual aspects to clearly expressed opinions and visions of and on this region. The title refers to Adnan's well-known epic poem "The Arab Apocalypse" which she wrote during the Lebanese civil war.
D'une rive à l'autre: patrimoines croisés
Ed. by Silvia Naef, Pauline Nerfin and Nadia Radwan. Book studies in hommage to Professor Leïla el-Wakil
Geneva, Slatkine editions, 2018
Cet ouvrage de mélanges est dédié à la professeure Leïla el-Wakil, historienne de l’art, architecte et spécialiste dans le domaine de la conservation du patrimoine bâti. À l’occasion de son départ à la retraite, après trente ans de carrière au sein de l’alma mater genevoise, ses collègues, amis et anciens élèves, historiens de l’art, professionnels et experts du patrimoine culturel, ont voulu lui rendre hommage en contribuant à cet ouvrage. D’une rive à l’autre : patrimoines croisés reflète les intérêts interdisciplinaires liés aux travaux de Leïla el-Wakil, dont la carrière se situe à la croisée des chemins entre l’architecture locale et le patrimoine bâti méditerranéen. Il fait également écho à son engagement pour la sauvegarde du patrimoine à Genève et ailleurs, de même qu’à ses multiples actions éducatives et culturelles menées au sein de la Cité. L’ouvrage a été édité par Silvia Naef, professeure ordinaire à l’unité d’arabe de l’Université de Genève, Pauline Nerfin, son assistante et doctorante à l’unité d’histoire de l’art de l’Université de Genève et Nadia Radwan, son ancienne assistante et professeure assistante à l’Université de Berne.
Les Modernes d'Egypte: Une Renaissance transnationale des Beaux-Arts et des Arts Appliqués
In this book, Nadia Radwan explores a key moment of the development of modern Egyptian art, when the foundations of a new artistic practice are defined in the early 20th century. Based on field work and unexplored archival material, this work focuses on a generation of painters and sculptors commonly referred to as the pioneers (al-ruwwad). Trained in institutions, such as the School of Fine Arts in Cairo, their production is inscribed in a project of artistic renaissance and reflects multiple transcultural interactions between Egypt and Europe. This publication thus re-evaluates these artists that opened the path to Egyptian modernism and sheds light their yet understudied production. While art history is now approached in the perspective of circulations, exchange and networks, this book offers a background to a better comprehend the dynamics and stakes of contemporary art in the Middle East.