São Paulo – Standing in a large line for admittance to Cairo Museum, in 1991, artist Essam Elbattal found himself wondering how many people would like the chance of visiting the site and seeing the works of Ancient Egypt. Thus, he decided to create replicas of the works exhibited not only in his city but also in other museums worldwide, like the Louvre, in France, the Berlin Museum, in Germany, and London, England, as well as the Alexandria Museum, also in Egypt. That was when the idea of the Itinerant Egyptian Museum arose, currently presenting 800 pieces and having visited several Brazilian cities.
Elbattal arrived in Brazil in 1996, at the invitation of a shopping centre in the country, where he would show his works. He liked the experience so much that he established himself in the country. He set up base in Rio Grande do Sul and currently has a workshop in the city of Viamão. In his work, he uses material like wood, stone, gypsum and fibreglass. "They are items like the Rosetta, the statue of Nephertiti, papyruses, sarcophagi, among others that are part of the history of Ancient Egypt,” said the artist.
In the country, the Itinerant Egyptian Museum has already been to cities in the states of Maranhão, Rio Grande do Sul, São Paulo and Santa Catarina. Abroad, the cities visited were in Germany, South Africa and Japan. Currently, the museum is set up at Farol Shopping, in the city of Tubarão, where it will remain up to September 11th. Many times, Elbattal sets up his exhibition at the invitation of sites like shopping centres, culture houses and universities. The number of items exhibited, according to him, varies according to the space the exhibition will cover.
"There is also a light and music spectacle, for visitors to be able to get more information about Ancient Egypt,” explained Elbattal. "It is a circuit of stories about the period, in which statues like Tutankhamun, Khefren, Ramses II, Osiris and Iris glow and tell their story,” he says. With regard to the visitors, he says that his museum has already been viewed by 1.8 million people, who have been recorded. Currently, the artist is seeking partners to bring the museum to the city of São Paulo once again.
Elbattal, however, has not fully left Egypt, where he has a workshop in Cairo, on Tahrir Square, which became world famous for the protests that resulted in the ousting of former Egyptian president Hosni Mubarak. In Brazil, the artist is also developing interesting volunteer work, teaching art to children at a school in Viamão. There, Elbattal offers a course on the production of papyruses and clay sculptures. Some of the items exhibited in his museum are the work of his students, others are by Maged Jorge, another Egyptian artist.
Service
Itinerant Egyptian Museum
To September 11th, at Farol Shopping, in Tubarão, Santa Catarina
Av. Marcolino Martins Cabral, n° 2525
Contact the artist: museuegipcio@hotmail.com
*Translated by Mark Ament