Paris Exhibit Looks at Golden Age of Arab Divas
Voice of America
PARIS - The golden age of Arab cinema and music of the 20th century is being revisited through its female stars — women who became powerful symbols of feminism, Arab independence and identity.
Through film and music clips, posters and mementos, a Divas exhibit in Paris traces the Arab world's female artistic scene from the 1920s to the '70s. It includes singers like Egypt's legendary Oum Kalthoum, and Fayrouz from Lebanon. Actresses like Souad Hosni and Hind Rostom. Also, dancers, producers and directors. Those stars, and the times they lived in, embodied much more than art. "Women in the Arabic world fought to live their life, fought to obtain more rights and it was a woman fight — women for women," said Elodie Bouffard, co-curator of the exhibit at the Arab World Institute. "This exhibition is just to say, 'At this time, this industry was very strong and was an industry where women had their place.'"More Related News