Museum of African Art in Cairo – Exhibition “Museums as Bridges of Culture” at the National Museum of Egyptian Civilization
The exhibition “Museums as Bridges of Culture: Egyptian-Serbian Encounters at the Museum of African Art” was officially opened on May 26, 2025, at the National Museum of Egyptian Civilization (NMEC) in Cairo.
This exhibition provides the Egyptian public with the first insight into the long-term and diverse nurturing of Egyptian cultural heritage through the decades-long development and work of the Museum of African Art. The exhibition follows the chronological course of Egypt's presence at the Museum of African Art from the 1950s and its "early beginnings" through the Museum's institutional formation and development of program activities, to its contemporary exhibitions, publications, and educational formats that draw on themes of Egyptian cultural heritage.
Presenting the programs and initiatives of the Museum of African Art implemented over more than four decades of work, the exhibition highlights historical moments of cooperation and cultural contacts between Egypt and Serbia, thus creating a space for reflection on the role of the museum as a place of meeting of cultures and exchange of knowledge.
This project represents a significant step in improving cultural dialogue between Egypt and Serbia, because it was conducted due to the signed Memorandum of Cooperation between the National Museum of Egyptian Civilization in Cairo (NMEC) and the Museum of African Art (MAA) in Belgrade.
The delegation of the Museum of African Art consists of the museum director, Dr. Marija Aleksić, as well as curators Milica Naumov and Milica Josimov, who participated in the conception and realization of the exhibition.
In the presence of numerous guests from the diplomatic, public, and cultural life of Cairo, the exhibition was opened by the Serbian Ambassador to Cairo, H.E. Miroslav Šestović, and the CEO of NMEC, Prof. Dr. Tayeb Abbas, and the guest of honor was the Egyptian Deputy Minister of Tourism and Antiquities, Ms. Yomna Elbahar.
The exhibition is being realized with the support of the Embassy of the Republic of Serbia in Cairo and the Embassy of the Arab Republic of Egypt in Belgrade.
The exhibition will last until June 10, 2025.
