Revolutionary Art and Politics in Egypt: Liminal Spaces and Cultural Production After 2011

This book examines the role of artists in Egypt during the 2011 revolution, when street art from graffiti to political murals became ubiquitous facets of revolutionary spaces. Through interviews, personal testimonies, and accounts of the lived experience of 25 street artists, the book explores the meaning of art in revolutionary political contexts, specifically by focusing on artistic production during ’liminal’ moments as the events of the Egyptian revolution unfolded. The author privileges the perspective of the actors themselves to examine the ways that artists reacted to events and conceived of their art as means to further the goals of the revolution. Based on fieldwork conducted in the years since 2011, the book provides a narrative of Egyptian artists’ participation in and representations of the revolution, from hopeful beginnings to the subsequent crackdown and election of al-Sisi.

Rounwah Adly Riyadh Bseiso is an educator and researcher who holds a PhD from SOAS, University of London, UK. Her main interests lie in issues relating to media and political practices, human rights law & international development, and the decolonization of knowledge in the S.W.A.N.A. (South West Asian/North African) region. Her academic writing has been published in peer review collections such as Narrating Conflict in the Middle East: Discourse, Image and Communications Practices in Lebanon and Palestine (I.B.Tauris, 2013).