S\u00e3o Paulo \u2013 Four Egyptian queens and the Goddess Isis will be the focus of the event \u201cNefer, beauty in ancient Egypt\u201d, from Monday (22) to Friday (26) at the Human and Social Sciences Center of the Federal University of the state of Rio de Janeiro (Unirio), in Rio de Janeiro. Under this theme, the university will hold an art exhibition, lectures, fashion shows and other activities, such as storytelling and Egyptian make-up sessions.<\/p>\n
Journalist M\u00e1rcia Machado (picture)<\/em>, who is organizing the event with a colleague, journalist Ronaldo Rosas, says that the event\u2019s conception started out from a hieroglyph used for the term beauty, the representation of a lute. It doesn\u2019t cover only aesthetics, however, and means \u201cgood, beautiful and happy\u201d. \u201cThe idea is to seduce using aesthetics, but also relay a message, work people\u2019s sensitivity for what really matters, which is the respect for the other, even if the other is completely different from us, and women\u2019s empowerment,\u201d says M\u00e1rcia about the event.<\/p>\n The queens chosen as focal points for the activities are Nefertiti, Nefertari, Hatshepsut and Cleopatra. \u201cI think it\u2019s amazing that, at that time, they held all this power,\u201d says M\u00e1rcia. The journalist concludes that the world took a step backwards from then on, since there aren\u2019t, currently, queens as powerful as those from ancient Egypt. To M\u00e1rcia, Cleopatra was treated unjustly because she became known for being seductive, whereas she was mainly a strategist. \u201cOf an extraordinary intelligence,\u201d says the journalist. \u201cBeautiful inside and out,\u201d she adds.<\/p>\n Based on these four women and on goddess Isis, a figure from mythology considered the mother of all of Egypt, artists M\u00e1rcio Pxe and M\u00f4nica Werneck produced the paintings for the exhibition. Pxe is one of the main names Rio\u2019s street art scene and M\u00f4nica is a Brazilian living in the Netherlands with a work focusing on the feminine. Each made five paintings that will be in exhibition from 3 pm to 9 pm.<\/p>\n The lectures take place on October 23, 24 and 25, at 6:30 pm. On Tuesday, Nely Feitoza will discuss Cleopatra and the goddess Isis, on Wednesday, Regina Bibiani Morgado will discuss Nefertiti, and on Thursday, Luis Lobianco will talk about Cleopatra also. The three of them are renowned History professors. On October 26, the event\u2019s last day, there will some other types of activities in the evening, including a fashion show and an artwork on the pyramids and another on other elements of ancient Egypt using neon lights.<\/p>\n The event\u2019s opening will be on Monday, at 6 pm, with a fashion show of Arab and Egyptian attire, the exhibition\u2019s opening, the opening of the performances space, Egyptian make-up for the visitors and a tribute to the Nacional Museum, in Rio de Janeiro, which caught fire in September and lost most of its collection. The schedule also includes storytelling by the group Filhas da Lua (Daughters of the Moon) and other children\u2019s activities, such as having their names written in hieroglyphs and a guided tour of the exhibition. School groups will visit the event during the day.<\/p>\n The event is part of the project \u201cEgypt in Brazil\u201d, created by Rio de Janeiro-born M\u00e1rcia Machado to promote activities aiming at enhancing Brazil-Egypt ties and increasing the knowledge about Egypt among the Brazilian population.<\/p>\n Besides Unirio, the event is also supported by Egypt\u2019s general consulate in Rio de Janeiro. The activities will take place at the auditorium, cultural center and tent of the Human and Social Sciences Center, at Avenida Pasteur, 458, Praia Vermelha, Rio de Janeiro. The event is free. Further information at mmgates@oi.com.br<\/a>.<\/p>\n Translated by S\u00e9rgio Kakitani <\/strong><\/p>\n <\/p>\n