Wesam Mohamed

Biography

Wesam works as a Consultant and Heritage Expert for PWC projects in Saudi Arabia, working in the management and development of heritage projects. She also works as a curator for the Egyptian Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities, curating museum collections and supporting museum projects.

Wesam is currently a PhD Fellow at Aarhus University, Denmark. Her research will investigate what the Egyptian public view as ‘their’ heritage in contrast to global perceptions of Egypt’s heritage and will create best practice for community engagement as a means of enhancing identity and protecting heritage resources.

Previously Wesam was involved in a number of projects within the Ministry of Antiquities in Egypt. She was a Curator at the Egyptian Museum in Cairo, a member of the Technical Office of the Head of Museums Sector, a member of the scientific committees of the Airport Museum and Kom-Oushim Museum, part of the Department of Permanent Museum Exhibitions and also of the International Loans Department. She was previously a Museologist for the Grand Egyptian Museum.

Wesam has an MA in Museum Studies on effective strategic planning for the Egyptian museums of antiquities, which was gained under the supervision of Neal Spencer, Keeper of the Department of Ancient Egypt and Sudan at the British Museum. She was also the Project Registrar for the Egypt Documentation Project, a joint project between the British Museum and the Ministry of Antiquities in Egypt.

Wesam has spoken at a number of international museum conferences, including the 4th International Architectural Conservation conference and exhibition in Dubai and CIPEG post-conference workshop in Bologna, Italy (both 2016). She was awarded the ICOM International scholarship at ICOM-ITC, Beijing (2016) and the German Archaeological Institute scholarship (2015). She has also undertaken freelance exhibitions work, as Project Manager for the Made in Egypt Project (2016) and as Exhibition Coordinator at Tanis Museum (2016).

At the British Museum
During her time on the International Training Programme in 2015, Wesam was based in the British Museum’s Department of Egypt and Sudan. Her UK Partner placement was spent at Bristol Museums, Galleries and Archives.

In 2015 participants were asked to plan and propose a temporary exhibition based on the physical space and concept of the Asahi Shimbun Displays in Room 3 at the British Museum.  Wesam’s exhibition project proposal was entitled 280 Days of Excuses: Work excused absence in Ancient Egypt.

Wesam’s place on the International Training Programme was generously supported by the John S Cohen Foundation.

Legacy Projects
In October 2019 Wesam participated in the ITP MA Conference programme in Brighton. With fellows from Armenia, India, Nepal, Malaysia and China, Wesam attended a programme structured around the 3-day MA Conference on Sustainable and Ethical Museums in a Globalised World.

In 2022 Wesam was awarded an ITP Conference Grant to attend the 26th ICOM General Conference in Prague.

ITP Newsletter Publications
ITP Newsletter Issue 3 (2016), Reasons for celebration: The Egyptian Museum at Cairo International Airport
ITP Newsletter Issue 3 (2016), Collections in focus: The lute player

Continued Dialogue
In October 2019 Wesam returned to the British Museum for a two-month research placement for her PhD studies within the Department of Egypt in Sudan.