Evelyn AshamAllah the fantasy and legends artist

Evelyn AshamAllah Eskandar Hanna “aka Evelyn AshamAllah” is an Egyptian painter, whose artistic approach has been moved from natural landscapes to abstract portraits and plants. Her style is now known for its playfulness, and the evoking of magic imaginary legend where each painting tells a story, attempting to merge the simplicity and innocence of her childhood with the satire experienced in adulthood. She uses various media, including oil, wax, and acrylic.

Ahmed Ibrahim

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May 13, 2022

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Sparkle of beginning

AshamAllah studied oil painting at Alexandria University’s Faculty of Fine Arts and graduated in 1973. She began her career in journalism, writing for Rose El-Youssef magazine while practicing her art and participating in group and solo exhibitions. Later, she quit journalism, feeling satisfied with her paintbrush alone.

Egyptian spirit

She belongs to the 1970s generation in Egypt, which was prompted by the defeat in the Arab-Israeli War of 1967 to adopt a different trend from the realistic art that dominated Egyptian visual art in the 1960s.

She was influenced by and followed artists like Abdel Hadi el-Gazzar (1925–1966) and Hamed Nada (1924–1990), who produced folk fantasy paintings with an Egyptian-styled surrealist touch.

*Achievements

Member of the Artists and Writers Association (Cairo Atelier).
Founding member of the Syndicate of Fine Artists (Photography).
Member of the Fine Arts Alumni Association.

Exhibitions

She held many private exhibitions in Egypt and abroad and has won several prestigious awards for her paintings.

Special exhibitions

— Exhibition at Cairo Atelier 1985–1976–1987.
— Exhibition at Galerie Bouquet 1986.
— Exhibition at the Spanish Cultural Center, 1988.
— Exhibition in the Round Hall of the Syndicate of Fine Artists 1989.
— Exhibition at Cairo Atelier 1990–1991–1995.
— Exhibition at the German Goethe Institute in Cairo, 1992.
— Exhibition in Akhenaten Gallery, Arts Complex, Zamalek, 1993, 1998.
— Exhibition in Erfurt, Germany, 1995.
— Exhibition in Fort, Nuremberg, Germany, 1999.
— Exhibition at Kafr El-Sheikh Culture Palace, 2001.
— Exhibition at Ismailia Culture Palace, 2001.
— Exhibition at Tanta Culture Palace, 2002.
Retrospective exhibition in Ebdaa Hall- Cairo, 2003.
-Exhibition at the Creativity Culture Palace in Alexandria, 2004.
-Exhibition at Al-Anfoushi Culture Palace — Alexandria, 2004.
Art Gallery exhibition, 2005.
— Exhibition in Khan Al Maghribi Gallery, October 2005.
— Exhibition in Ahmed Al-Adwani Gallery, Abdullah Al-Salem Suburb — Kuwait, December 2014.
— Exhibition in Khan Al-Maghrabi Gallery, Zamalek, October 2017.
— Exhibition entitled (The Unspeakable Words) at (Axis) Gallery in Downtown, November 2021.

*Local group exhibitions

-Bilateral exhibition in Desouk city, 1971–1978.
-Bilateral exhibition at Kafr El-Sheikh Culture Center, October 1984.
-Participated in the general exhibitions in Cairo from 84 to 1993.
-Salon for Lovers of Fine Arts 1987.
-`Art against oppression` exhibition, Atelier 1988.
— An exhibition of Egyptian female artists at the Goethe-Institut in Egypt (GTZ) 1993.
-Egyptian Women’s Creations Exhibition (the centenary of the departure of Ali Mubarak), the Supreme Council of Culture 1994.
An exhibition at the Faculty of Mass Communication, Cairo University, in celebration of International Women’s Day 1996.
— Women’s exhibition at Shooting Club 1997.
— Exhibition at Al-Marsam Gallery, 1997.
— Exhibition (with two artists) at Apartment Gallery, 1999.
-Exhibition (Artists with their fingerprints) at Salama Gallery 1999.
Exhibition of nine artists at Cairo Atelier 2000.
Exhibition (Art for All), Salama Gallery, 1999–2002.
Salon of the Cairo Atelier from 1989 to 2003.
The National Exhibition of Fine Arts, session (26) 1999.
— Three female artists exhibition at Orina Express Gallery, 1999.
Exhibition of 9 Artists, February 2000.
— Creations of Egyptian women at Al-Jazeera Arts Center, 2000.
Exhibition (Egyptian Colors) at the Italian Cultural Institute 2000.
— The National Exhibition of Fine Arts, session (27) 2001.
Exhibition (Pioneers of Fine Art from 1945) Ibdaa Hall, 2001.
Exhibition at the Italian Cultural Center, 2001.
Intifada exhibition in Shumua hall, 2002.
— Triple exhibition of the artist with her two sons in Salama Hall, 2002.
-National Exhibition of Fine Arts, 28th session, 2003
— Group exhibition with artists (Faten Al-Nawawi — Abdel Rahim Shaheen — Gamal Abdel Nasser) at Cairo Atelier 2004.
— Festival of Egyptian Women’s Creativity in Contemporary Arts, Gezira Arts Center, 2004.
— Exhibition (The Issue of Women and Art), Al-Jazeera Center for Arts, 2004.
— Triple exhibition — Fine Artists Syndicate 2005.
The National Exhibition of Fine Arts, session (29) 2005.
-Exhibition honoring the exhibiting artists in the Round Hall during the period 2003–2006 at the Round Hall May 31, 2006.
Exhibition (For Gaza) at Cairo Atelier, January 2009.
— Fourth Festival of Fine Creativity (4th Egypt Salon), July 2010.
— Exhibition (Twenty Years of Evelyn Asham Allah’s Life) at Gallery 6 for Contemporary Arts in Zamalek, June 2013.
— General Exhibition of Fine Arts, session (37) 2015
Exhibition at (Ajyal 1) Gallery, Mahmoud Saeed Museums Center, Alexandria, April 2015.
— Exhibition (Contemporary Egyptian Painting and Heritage) in the halls of Gezira Arts Center in Zamalek, April 2017.
— Exhibition entitled (She) at Ibdaa Art Gallery, Zamalek, February 2018.
— Exhibition (Madad.. Madad) at Khan al-Maghrabi Gallery in Zamalek, May 2018.
— Exhibition (In Frame) at Khan al-Maghrabi Gallery in Zamalek, June 2018.
— Exhibition at Note Gallery in Zamalek, September 2018.
— Exhibition (Artists between Dream and Reality Space) at Dai Art Gallery, April 2019.
— Exhibition (Agenda), session (13) at the Bibliotheca Alexandrina Conference Center, February 2020.
— Third exhibition entitled (Arab Anthology) at Dha Gallery for Arts and Culture in Mohandessin, May 2021.
— Exhibition (Ajyal) at Gallery (Hala Art) in Nasr City, September 2021.
— Exhibition entitled (Madad.. Madad) in Gallery (Khan Al Maghribi) in Zamalek, April 2022.

*International group exhibitions/external exhibitions

— External exhibitions in Rome — Paris — America — Beijing — Beirut.
— Exhibitions in Algeria from 1979 to 1982.
— Muscat Biennale — Oman 1989.
— An exhibition of Egyptian women artists at the Egyptian Academy in Rome 1992.
— Sharjah Biennial 1992.
— An exhibition of Arab women artists (with the participation of ten Egyptian artists) at the Arab Women Organization, and he toured all states, the United States of America from 1992 to 1994.
— An exhibition of Egyptian women artists at the Egyptian Cultural Center in Paris 1994.
Exhibition at Baladna Gallery, Jordan, 1995.
— Exhibition at Beirut University — Beirut — Lebanon, 1997.
— Group exhibition in Bosnia 1997.
— Exhibition (Creative Women of the Mediterranean and Black Seas) Thessaloniki — Greece 2000.
— The Fifth Burullus International Forum for Painting on Walls and Boats, Kafr El-Sheikh, October 2018.


*Local and international encyclopedias in which AshamAllah was mentioned in

-Cambridge International Encyclopedia.
— A book issued by the German GTZ Association, an association for German-Egyptian cooperation.
— A book about Egyptian female artists produced by the artist / Nazly Madkour.

Collections

private collections

Some individuals have collections in Egypt, Algeria, Germany, the United States of America, France, Holland, England, and Tunisia.

Official collectibles

— Museum of Modern Egyptian Art in Cairo.
— Ministry of Culture.
— Museum of the Faculty of Fine Arts in Minya — Cairo.
Museum of the Faculty of Art Education, Cairo.
Mubarak Public Library — Cairo.
Greater Cairo Library — Cairo.
— Cultural Development Fund — Cairo.
— Supreme Council of Culture — Cairo.
Faust Museum in Kinlingen, Germany.
Al-Ahram Foundation.
— At the Foundation (GTZ) Germany.

Awards

Local Awards

- First prize for the Mother’s Day competition at the Ministry of Mass Culture, 1985.
The Photography Award — the Grand Competition for the decoration of the Egyptian Opera House, 1989.
Appreciation Award in the 1st Youth Salon 1989.

International Awards

Faust International Prize from the International Faust Society, Germany, 1992.