Fayoum Caricature Museum broken into, to re-open in January

Egyptian visual artist Mohamed Abla's Caricature Museum, which houses an impressive collection of cartoons from Egyptian and regional publications dating back to 1927, was broken into this weekend, according to the artist.

None of the caricatures were stolen, but some were thrown on the floor and the bookcases emptied, with their contents strewn around the space. An African sculpture, as well as equipment, including a projector, screen, DVD player and a laptop, were missing from the space.

Located in Tunis village in the Fayoum Oasis, the museum boasts Abla's Egyptian caricature collection, which consists of over 500 original works and some copies of cartoons that no longer exist in print. It was apparently broken into between December 17 and December 18, when the artist found the doors unlocked.

“The police came and inspected the site but they should have been protecting the space and the village in the first place,” Abla said. “I've already done the job of the Ministry of Culture by establishing this museum. I can't do the job of the Ministry of Interior as well.”

The museum, which Abla established using his own money, was inaugurated in 2009 and its contents were collected by Abla with the support of other artists over the course of 20 years before establishing the museum.

“It tells the modern history of Egypt through its cartoonists,” Abla says.

The artists exhibited include cartooning giants such as Mostafa Hussein, Saroukhan, Ahmed Toughan, Ahmed Hegazy, Salah El Leithy, George Bahgoury, Salah Jahin and Mohieddin Ellabad. The museum also boasts collections by contemporary Egyptian cartoonists such as Amro Selim, Doaa El-Adl, Makhlouf, Anwar and Andeel.

The museum has a very unique collection of original works exhibited and Abla has even more stacks in his studio waiting to be archived and shown, according to researcher on Arabic cartoons and caricatures Jonathan Guyer.

“It's a one of a kind project that Abla is undertaking,” Guyer told Mada Masr, adding that although there are small collections at the Egyptian Society of Caricature and Rose al-Youssef's magazine archives, to his knowledge it is only musuem dedicated to caricature in the region.

The museum was established in the memory of the late artist and cartoonist Zohdi al-Adawi, who had dreamed of establishing a museum for regional cartoons. Abla’s aim is to digitize the growing collection.

Tunis village is a touristic site where many artists have houses and studios, and it is also the location of Abla’s Fayoum Art Center, a complex designed by architect Adel Fahmy in which the museum is located. The museum is crowned by a seven-meter mud-brick dome. Tunis is famous for its pottery making and hosts a pottery festival annually at the start of December.

“Tunis is an important site in Egypt," Abla said, "and the governerate of Fayoum should be protecting it.” 

Abla said that he will reopen the museum on January 16 after carrying out repairs, as well as adding a new collection of works.

Guyer said that Abla takes political cartoons very seriously as an art form and doesn’t see them simply as journalistic works, also mentioning that the influence of cartoons is very evident in his own paintings.

“Egypt has a rich history of caricature as an art form,” Guyer says. “The museum showcases works by artists that defined political cartooning here.”