2019 Senior Fellow: Mohamed’s introduction

Dear Friends,

My name is Mohamed Mokhtar, a curator from Egypt working at the Abdeen Palace Museum – a historical museum in Cairo which focus on Egypt’s history and holds the collections of the royal family who ruled Egypt from the 19^th to mid 20^th century.  I joined the ITP in 2015 and I will be 2019 Senior Fellow.

I want to tell about my home country, Egypt, considered one the world’s oldest civilizations having emerged from the Nile Valley around 3,100 BC. Ancient Egypt saw some of the earliest developments of writing, agriculture, urbanisation, organized religion and central government. Egypt is also home to iconic monuments such as the Giza Necropolis and its Great Sphinx, as well the ruins of Memphis, Thebes, Karnak, and the Kings. With over 95 million inhabitants, Egypt is the most populous country in North Africa, the Middle East, and the Arab world.

In terms on my work, I am interested in temporary exhibitions and marketing for museums. My time on the ITP summer programme and participating in legacy projects has helped me alot in this line of work. In 2016 the Egyptian Museum in Cairo decided to create a temporary exhibition about the museum’s repatriated objects. Using my ITP skills, including those gained during the Object in Focus project, I helped to develop the exhibition, in particular label writing, finalising printed materials and posters.

I am very happy to return to London and the British Museum soon, to meet with new fellows, learn from each other and share experiences. The British Museum gives you the opportunity to see world civilizations in one place and gain new experiences through the learning sessions. As Senior Fellow I hope to gain new skills and learn more about museums from all the new members of the programme.

Mohamed (ITP 2015, Senior Fellow 2019)