What Al-Nadeem Knew

What al-Nadeem Knew is a multi-media storytelling project that uses collective memory and official and non-official records to unearth different meanings to current political realities. The project looks at the role gender plays in constructing grand narratives and nationhood. It pivots around the literary figure of Al-Nadeem, or the confidant and wine-bearer in classical Arabic poetry.

Through this project, Ismail Fayed examines the symbolism of music and its performance, specifically that of iconic Egyptian singer and film actress Um Kalthoum, as being an essential part of producing a certain notion of the 'voice of the state' in the 1950's regime in Egypt. It studies the implications and politics of such a voice. The installation tries to reconstruct alternative stories about the past, while opening different possibilities to re-imagine the future.

Produced by New York Arab Festival, and powered by Wizara