!كل العيون عليها / All Eyes on Her!

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Egyptian women take centre stage in All Eyes on Her! honouring everyday resistance, revolution and reclamation of heritage.

All Eyes on Her! examines how Egyptian women are reclaiming their heritage, position in public, and role in revolutions, past and present. From anti-colonial protestors and Olympic wrestlers, to fashion designers and the creators of the world’s first visibly Muslim female comic superhero.

The display, All Eyes on Her!, takes its name from a popular Egyptian saying, describing the experience of feeling inspected as a woman in public. Yet, women are largely invisible in accounts of Egyptian history, both in ancient times and now. The three themes of the exhibition – Resist, Revolt and Reclaim – can be seen in the display ranging from ancient belongings taken from Egypt during colonial times, to modern-day cultural heritage and more, including:

  • A shabti revolution – ancient Egyptian shabti, used to represent the dead, are grouped to protest against their displacement, on behalf of ancient Egyptian women in the afterlife
  • The outfit worn by women across faiths to demonstrate in the 1919 anti-colonial revolution
  • Contemporary designs by Egyptian fashion brand Ganubi, reimagining motifs of Egypt’s diverse heritage
  • personal archives and memorabilia from Mayye Zayed’s award-winning documentary Lift like a Girl! which tells the story of working-class Egyptian women training to become Olympic weightlifters
  • Ancient Egyptian makeup alongside social media influencers who are adapting the signature Egyptian eyeliner style for the 21st century.

The display is bilingual in parts, with full Egyptian Arabic translations online coming soon. It also features commissioned illustrations by Egyptian illustrator Dina Zaitoun.

It has been developed with Egyptian women and women-led initiatives in London, Cairo, the Egyptian Delta and Luxor, working in partnership with the Horniman since 2021.

It is also part of a three-year collaboration with researchers at UCL, through the Arts and Humanities Research Council (AHRC)-funded project ‘Mobilising Collections for Institutional Change’.

Pictured: 1991.460 – Scarf pins wrapped in paper printed with verse by Egyptian poet Ahmed Shawki, exiled by the British for writing anticolonial poetry.