Hala Elkoussy

Hala Elkoussy

Elkoussy transformed a former corner shop in Sandgate Road into an archive and reading room, filled with myriad documents, photographs, maps, books, as well as a specially made film, ‘in search of a city (in the papers of Sein)’, relating to Egypt’s colonial past. ‘Khawaga’ is an Arabic colloquialism for ‘foreigner’ that mixes pejorative connotations of being ‘rich and useless’ with those of envy and respect, while ‘Johnny’ is a generic name that Egyptians used to refer to British soldiers. Film 34 mins.

Awards: Abraaj Capital Art Prize (2010)