Medrar Projects 1971, Sun Ra in Egypt 1971, Sun Ra in Egypt

1971, Sun Ra in Egypt

1971, Sun Ra in Egypt

Exhibition

Medrar for Contemporary Art

15 May 2014 - 13 June 2014

by Tom Bogaert

May 15 to June 13, 2014
Saturday to Thursday from 5:00 p.m to 9:00 p.m.
Opening reception: Thursday May 15 at 7:00 p.m.

Please join us for the opening of Tom Bogaert’s “1971, Sun Ra in Egypt” including a special performance Dwarfs of East Agouza & Invisible Hands, that will pay tribute to Sun Ra’s music.

One hundred years after 1914, Medrar for Contemporary Art is celebrating Sun Ra’s birthday in a special exhibition. Bogaert’s “1971, Sun Ra in Egypt” is an ongoing research project based on the life and work of Sun Ra – the legendary American jazz pioneer, mystic, poet, and philosopher. The project exists as a series of performances, lectures, installations, videos, art objects, and a related publication and it takes as its starting point Sun Ra’s 1971 visit to Egypt.

Besides Bogaret’s art works, the exhibition will also feature a make-shift museum for Sun Ra, which includes books written about him, his records, and other objects.

Sun Ra (1914-1992), born in Alabama in the United States, was a legendary jazz pioneer, mystic, poet and philosopher. Born as Herman Poole Blount, he changed his name to Le Sony’r Ra after a visionary experience that led him to believe he came from the planet Saturn. From this point on Sun Ra was fascinated by both outer space and ancient Egypt. His incorporation of the Egyptian sun god Ra into his name was the first of many invocations of ancient Egypt’s culture and beliefs. Sun Ra was famous for his music as much as his eccentricity with his unique sonic productions that reflected a myriad of approaches and inspirations. From the mid-1950s until his death in 1993, Sun Ra led a band called “The Arkestra”, which continues to perform its eccentric mix of free jazz, bop, and electronic music under the leadership of Marshall Allen.

This project is supported by the Flemish authorities, Embassy of Belgium in Egypt and Roberto Cimetta Fund.

1971, Sun Ra in Egypt (ENG)

Event Details

’1971, Sun Ra in Egypt’ opens on Thursday 15 May at 7pm.

The exhibition is ongoing Sunday to Thursday until 13 June 2014.
Opening hours: 10am – 5pm

7 Gamal El Din Abou El Mahasen Street, Garden City, 1st Floor, Cairo, Egypt

Artist

Tom Bogaert

Tom Bogaert came to art over a decade ago after practicing refugee law. His artistic practice is organized through long-term research projects that often examine the intersection of humanism and human rights, politics and entertainment, and art and propaganda. Bogaert moved to Amman in 2009 and has since produced a series of works under a project called “Impression, proche orient,” which draws from his experience as a European living in the Middle East and uses irony and criticism to interrogate the layers of his own understanding of contemporary issues throughout the region.