FRAME · FIRST EDITION
FRAME at the Museum of Modern Egyptian Art
What changes when young people help shape the way we experience art?
FRAME’s first edition focuses on the Museum of Modern Egyptian Art in Cairo, exploring how young people can help shape the ways art is encountered, interpreted, and connected to contemporary life.
Through research, dialogue, expert-led workshops, and collaborative design, the project brings together young people, artists, cultural practitioners, and museum professionals to explore new possibilities for cultural engagement. Participants examine the museum not only as a place where art is displayed, but as a cultural institution shaped by decisions about what is collected, how artworks are interpreted, whose stories are told, and how audiences participate.
The process moves from observing and questioning the museum experience to developing youth-led interventions and recommendations. Its wider ambition is to document a participatory approach that other cultural institutions in Egypt and the region can adapt, positioning young people as active co-designers of cultural spaces.
The museum & the collaboration
The Museum of Modern Egyptian Art traces its origins to the 1920s, when the idea of establishing a collection dedicated to modern Egyptian art gained momentum. Art collector and cultural patron Mohamed Mahmoud Khalil was among the figures who advocated for such a museum. Its collection and institutional home developed over several decades, moving between locations before reaching its current home in Gezira, within the grounds of the Cairo Opera House.
The museum’s current building was constructed in 1936 to a design by architect Mostafa Bey Fahmy. Originally known as the Grand Saray, it was later adapted to serve as the museum’s permanent home, which officially opened in October 1991. Following further renovation and redevelopment, the museum reopened in 2005 and underwent subsequent updates. Its collection spans painting, sculpture, printmaking, and ceramics, documenting the development of modern and contemporary Egyptian visual art.
The museum offers a starting point for exploring not only Egypt’s modern art history, but also how cultural institutions preserve, interpret, and make that history accessible to different generations.
With the support of Museum Manager Dr. Iman Nabil, this edition brought FRAME’s participatory approach into the museum context, creating a space to consider how young people’s experiences and ideas might inform cultural engagement.
Methodology in practice
FRAME combines research, dialogue, participatory observation, expert knowledge, collaborative design, and documentation. Rather than beginning with predetermined solutions, the process invites young people to examine their experiences, identify questions, and develop responses collectively.
Across the first edition, participants moved from exploring the museum and its collection to learning about interpretation, storytelling, and curatorial practice, before developing and refining three pilot interventions. The process also connected participants with key cultural stakeholders, including the museum manager, museum curator, and project advisors, creating opportunities for exchange between young people and those working in museum management, heritage, and cultural governance.
The project was supported by advisors Faten Kanafani, an expert in heritage management and cultural governance; Aliaa El Sherif, a specialist advisor in heritage and community; and Iman Nabil, Museum Manager, who contributed institutional and museum-practice perspectives. These exchanges helped situate participants’ ideas within the realities and possibilities of cultural institutions.
The process is documented through research findings, participant contributions, prototypes, feedback, and practical resources intended to make the approach adaptable beyond this edition.
The process
Three interconnected phases guide the work, moving from observation and inquiry to collaborative experimentation and shared learning.
PHASE 01
Explore
September 2026
The phase began with a research-based museum tour led by three facilitators, each guiding a group through a specific section of the museum. Through guided questions and observation, participants identified the artworks, spaces, and themes that drew their attention, recorded their first impressions, and reflected on what could be improved. These observations informed research into young people’s relationships with museums and their expectations of cultural spaces.
Four expert-led workshops then expanded this exploration:
“Interpreting Modern and Contemporary Art” — Youssef El Khouly, Artist and Curator, Tate London. A look at how definitions of art have evolved, and how we interpret it when meaning is no longer fixed.
“What Does “Engagement” Actually Look Like?” — Zeina Dowidar, Co-founder of Hekayyatna, and award-winning audio producer and storyteller. An exploration of storytelling as a way to engage audiences with museums.
“What Happens When Artwork Enters a Museum?” — Eslam Seif El-Nasr, Artist, Curator, and Founder of The Parallel. A hands-on exploration of how acquisition, classification, documentation, display, and interpretation shape an artwork’s institutional visibility.
“How Do We Read a Museum?” — Esraa El Fekky, Visual Artist and Filmmaker, Co-founder of South of Ajdabiya. Using the cycle I see, I wonder, I research, I see again, participants explored key movements in Egyptian art history and the ideas that shaped them.
PHASE 02
Co-design & intervene
September – November 2026
Across three co-design sessions facilitated by Marwan Fayed, participants translated their observations into ideas for new forms of museum engagement. The first session used keyword mapping, a silent gallery walk, and cross-pollination exercises to connect interests and form groups. The second focused on refining each group’s concept, identifying its target audience, and clarifying the questions and problems guiding its proposed solution. In the final session, groups presented their concepts, the systems they responded to, and how their prototypes could work in practice.
Feedback from museum curator Ahmed Nagi and museum manager Dr. Iman Nabil helped situate the proposals within the museum context. Participants then developed and piloted their ideas in three groups, resulting in three youth-led interventions exploring new approaches to interpretation, participation, and visitor engagement.
The interventions
Rabet
Connects young people with experienced mentors from the art scene, creating opportunities to learn from practitioners and build relationships across generations.
ExplorEA
Invites visitors to explore and enrich information about artists and artworks through research and fact-checking, opening up new ways to engage with the museum’s collection.
Jusoor
Offers visitors three routes through the museum, combining maps, narration, and artwork information to encourage different ways of experiencing the collection.
PHASE 03
Document & advocate
November 2026 – January 2027
The final phase brings together the project’s research, participant contributions, and lessons from the co-design process and pilot interventions. Outputs include a Youth Manifesto, research paper, policy brief, and open-source practical toolkit, documenting the process and translating its findings into recommendations for cultural institutions.
The project’s recommendations are shared with museum management and submitted to the Ministry of Culture, alongside final reporting to UNESCO. This phase connects the first edition’s experience to wider advocacy for youth participation in cultural governance and makes FRAME’s methods available for adaptation in other cultural contexts.
Outcomes
The edition is structured around a set of proposed outputs intended to carry the learning beyond the project itself. Confirm each item’s status and link as the outputs are finalised.
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05 · Open-source practical toolkit
A resource for sharing the methods, activities, and lessons that can be adapted for other cultural contexts.
Support
The first edition is supported through the UNESCO × SEVENTEEN Global Youth Grant Scheme, “Going Together – For Youth Creativity and Well-Being,” Scale-Up Phase 2026.
