Opening Reception: Wael Shawky

Saturday 28 June, 2pm

Wael Shawky, Cabaret Crusades III: The Secrets of Karbalaa (Marionette), 2014, Murano glass. Courtesy of Sfeir-Semler Gallery, Lisson Gallery, Lia Rumma, and Barakat Contemporary
Image: Wael Shawky, Cabaret Crusades III: The Secrets of Karbalaa (Marionette), 2014, Murano glass. Courtesy of Sfeir-Semler Gallery, Lisson Gallery, Lia Rumma, and Barakat Contemporary

Admission

Free, booking required
Book Event

We are delighted to invite you to the opening reception of our brand-new exhibition Wael Shawky.

Talbot Rice Gallery
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This event is part of our 50th anniversary celebrations, marking five decades of exhibitions at Talbot Rice Gallery, open to everyone and always free.

Wael Shawky’s penetrating film installations explore histories that have shaped our world. Intricately created sets and painted environments become host to exquisitely crafted and costumed characters, who perform versions of history connected to conflicts that continue to rage around us. Across Shawky’s Cabaret Crusades series and the recent Drama 1882 (created for the Egyptian Pavilion at the 60th Venice Biennale in 2024), Shawky reopens the narrative of the series of religious wars known as the Crusades, from an Arab perspective. He also highlights the events leading up to the British occupation of Egypt in 1882, destabilising any singular authority by embracing the irregular, subjective and contradictory accounts that more authentically represent the formation of history.

Exhibition preview and reception schedule

2pm – Exhibition preview begins in Talbot Rice Gallery

2:30pm – Reception begins in Playfair Library (access through Talbot Rice Gallery)

3:00pm – Speeches in Playfair Library

4:30pm – Exhibition preview and reception ends

Please enter through Talbot Rice Gallery via the West College Street entrance or the South Bridge entrance across the Old College Quad.

To ensure artwork safety, we ask that you do not bring any large bags or items with you. There will be a coat check at the downstairs entrance of the gallery for bags, coats and other large items if necessary. Thank you for your understanding.