There is still much to say and to remember of Egypt’s iconic diva Um Kolthoum, born in 1898. And Egypt’s Voice, an exhibition inaugurated by Minister of Culture Ahmed Hanno on 18 August, takes the occasion of her 50th death anniversary to do just that.
As I stepped into the historical Aisha Fahmy Palace in Zamalek (also known as the Arts Complex), built in 1907 and designed by Italian architect Antonio Lasciac, I instantly felt I was magically transported to the sixties, the time when the legendary singer filled Egypt and the whole Arab world with her unforgettable music. This was echoed by the muted light in the palace chambers and the sound of her beloved songs playing the background.
The exhibition, curated by Ali Said, himself a prominent visual artist as well as the general manager of the ministry’s cultural centres, runs through mid-November. It includes works by 29 Egyptian painters and sculptors, representing different generations. In addition, it showcases, in three rooms, whose original wallpaper-covered walls and wooden cupboards still bear the old authentic ambiance, accessories of the diva’s, including the beautiful dresses she used to wear to her concerts, her beige coat, black gloves, her small golden purse, and famous black glasses, which were temporarily borrowed from Um Kolthoum Museum in Manial district.
A good section of the exhibition is assigned to newspaper clips, mainly the daily Al-Ahram, especially those covering her massive funeral in 1975. In the palace’s corridors, a couple of glass display windows showcase samples of books written throughout the last 50 years on Um Kolthoum’s life and character such as Um Kolthoum’s Puzzle by the late writer Ragaa Al-Naqash and Um Kolthoum and I by Fekry Saleh. Another fantastic side of the show reveals pages from Um Kolthoum’s memoirs of her life back in her village Tamay Azzahayra, which are posted in special windows coupled with prominent visual artist Hussein Bikar’s drawings inspired by them.
On my second visit I noticed the increasing number of young couples who visit the exhibition and take selfies inspired by Um Kolthoum’s presence. Touring the exhibition, I came to realise how challenging it is for an art work to present a new perspective on Um Kolthoum, now that many visual artists have depicted her personality before and after her departure in so many styles.
Actually, a commissioned artist has few options: either a classic or pop art portrait, or painting the diva while performing with her famous musical band, which included big names such as the famous oud player and composer Mohamed Al-Qasabgy. However, a few artists opted for untraditional and different paths.
Yasser Gaessa’s watercolour portrait shows the diva in a style that merges classic portraiture with pop art. Her bright and colourful dress, which is totally different from her actual style, is powerful. The flow of watercolours on paper resembles the romantic flow of her songs. For Gaessa, a mid-career artist, “I think of art as play. Therefore, the artist should take into consideration the soul of the material used.” This is evident in the lightness and versatility of the portrait, except for the diva’s neck, which is painted in thick layers of colors, maybe to refer to the richness or intensity of the musical heritage she left to her worldwide fans.
Gaessa pointed out the specific nature of the palace which entails shedding light on a certain historical figure or an artistic experience. “Making a portrait of a historical, artistic or political figure is no easy mission, it requires an intimate interaction between the figure and the artist. I actually inherited my love of the diva from my late father who maintained the daily routine of listening attentatively to her songs while sipping his afternoon tea.” Gaessa, who started his career as a caricaturist, said he painted a collection of portraits of the diva in 2013 in a cartoonish style which were all sold out.
Although almost all the diva’s legacy is romantic songs written by prominent poets such as Ahmed Rami and Ahmed Shawki, none of the exhibited art works were inspired by the lyrics of her famous songs. Calligraphy in its forms, one powerful painting by mid-career artist Mahmoud Hamdy. The huge painting depicts a rare picture of the diva in her youth in a black dress with her hair tied back, reflecting Um Kolthoum’s transitional period from her village to the big city of Cairo. Entitled “The Beautiful Queen of Singing”, the acrylic on canvas with beautiful calligraphy in the background took the artist three months to complete and was painted with very slim brushes.
“The title of the painting is inspired by the title of the poster published in 1928, when the diva was a 24- year-old lady, in one of the Summer and People magazine issues, which was on my father’s bookshelves,” he told me. “I used to browse this magazine when I was a child. This is why when I was asked to participate in the exhibition, that picture instantly jumped into my mind. This image is definitely a part of my art history. This specific image, in which her dress was the fashion in Europe after WWI, has triggered the idea of star-making propaganda. I wondered how such a deep and massive voice coming from the depth of a traditional village with its specific culture could swiftly mingle with the hustle and bustle of the capital city? Um Kolthoum’s peerless ability to cope with cultural and political events, and to maintain her powerful impact across time until this moment is amazing.” He added, “working on paintings inspired by historical or even mythological figures is part of my current artistic project.”
Another interesting mixed media and collage on canvas painting by Khaled Hafez, an internationally renowned artist, depicts a series of repeated miniature images of Um Kolthoum, as if she was walking towards a certain point in the horizon, surrounded by a contemporary representation of Nut, sky goddess in Egyptian mythology. Titled “Thouma in Heavens”, the horizontal 50 by 100 cm painting was made in 2010 after the artist’s participation in a group exhibition at the Arab World Institute in Paris in 2009. Combining the figures of Um Kolthoum and Nut refers to the sacredness of both icons.
Hafez told me that he started to explore the legacy of Um Kolthoum only 20 years ago while living abroad. Another exceptional painting by the late artist Yasser Rostom reveals a surrealist scene of Um Kolthoum with her band of musicians, whose heads are replaced by fantastic flowers, referring to the blooming and joyful impact of her musical legacy. The painting is executed in a limited palette of blue, light beige and black, which leads us to the fantastic monochromatic oil on wood painting by the legendary artist Seif Wanly, also depicting the diva with her musical band in a pop art style. Samples of the pioneering artist George Bahgory’s collection of paintings on Um Kolthoum, which is estimated to be 400 pieces, were also exhibited in one corner.
Some artists, by contrast, insert Um Kolthoum icons inside their usual settings, without any attempt at creating or visualising a different vision. For example, the established visual artist Abdel-Wahab Abdel-Mohsen inserted a very small icon of the diva in the upper corner of one of his usual landscape paintings, while Gehan Seoudi inserted an image of Um Kolthoum into a pop art scene depicting men and women in the streets and in their offices. I also noticed the complete absence of any Arab or foreign artists despite the diva’s international weight.
For the exhibition, special 300-page digital catalogue was published by the Ministry of Culture, including the exhibited artworks as well as pictures and documents covering the diva’s life.
* A version of this article appears in print in the 18 September, 2025 edition of Al-Ahram Weekly
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