Protests outside the Ministry of Culture, Cairo
Suzy Klein with Minister of Culture Alaa Abdel Aziz
Standing outside the Egyptian Culture Ministry on a still, humid evening in Cairo, we watched a choir sing. Families and onlookers mingled with protestors as this was not a concert but an occupation: artists, musicians, writers and dancers had all come together to protest against moves made by the recently installed culture minister against some of Egypt’s biggest cultural institutions. This was a week ago, and since then public spaces across Egypt have filled with thousands protesting against the current government, as well as those in defence of the President, and the political future of Egypt looks increasingly uncertain.
Suzy Klein with Mahmoud Refat and Bahaa El Ansary
For Music Matters, as the city steeled itself for those 30 June protests, Suzy Klein spoke to some of the people who are intimately involved with Egyptian culture – Nayer Nagui, conductor of the Cairo Opera Orchestra, oud player Mustafa Said, the musicologists at the Coptic Institute for Music, young composer Bahaa El Ansary – and they shared their passions, hopes and fears for the musical future of Egypt.
With 7000 years of complex cultural history, inevitably there are no easy answers to the question of Egypt’s cultural identity, but all those we spoke with hoped for the continuation of the plurality of voices within the arts, and a future that embraces the cultural will of the Egyptian people.
Suzy Klein presents Music Matters from Cairo this Saturday at 1215pm on BBC Radio 3.
Suzy Klein in Tahrir Square
