Le Chat Egyptien (The Egyptian Cat) by the Coptic painter Marguerite Nakhla (1908 – 1977), 1965 [Oil on board, 47.8 by 47.8cm]
The Copts have no Coptic Art Gallery for themselves. Their fine art is distributed in the Coptic Museum in Old Cairo and other museums and galleries inside and outside Egypt.
Let us first define Coptic art. I have written two articles about this before: What Is (Should Be) Coptic Art? (February 10, 2014) and Again: What Is Coptic Art? (February 12, 2014). In these two articles I have defined Coptic art as the art produced by Copts – any piece of art produced by an individual who identifies himself or herself as Copt is Coptic art, but this definition of Coptic art is only a definition at a basic level. At a higher level, only pieces of art that use Coptic subjects and themes should be given the label of proper Coptic art.
Coptic artists may draw beautiful non-Coptic subjects, and some may use in that Coptic neo-iconographic style as a work signature, but that will not be reflecting or expressing Coptic life and reality. In this sense it is an art that does not belong to the Copts as a nation except on a lower level. Coptic art proper must then be produced by a Copt and at the same time be reflecting of Coptic reality and life. Such art must not only be religious, but must encompass and reflect all Coptic reality, religious and non-religious. While Coptic art must not reject iconography, it must be free and express itself in other styles.
All Coptic art, whether at its lowest level of definition or at its highest, must be collected in a Coptic national gallery. There must be a National Coptic Art Gallery. This is most probably going to be rejected by the dictatorial regime in place, but this regime cannot be forever: democracy must one day arrive. And then, the Copts will flower in all aspects – and with cultural autonomy in place, a national gallery for Coptic art can be established.
There may be three objections:
- That the Coptic Museum in Old Cairo, which was established in 1908, does contain Coptic iconography. But this is not the place of articles of art in a museum that should be dedicated to antiquities. A special national gallery for Coptic art must be established to house all fine art produced by the Copts, old or modern.
- That Coptic art can be distributed in all sorts of Egyptian galleries and museums. Such is the argument of those who want to see Coptic identity diluted and subsumed in what is called “Egyptian identity”, which in reality is Arab-Muslim identity. The English have their own National Gallery in London (established 1824). But this is basically a gallery that is run by the English; and it did not prevent the Scottish people from establishing their own Scottish National Gallery in Edinburgh (founded 1859).
- That art galleries are usually dedicated to all art, by all peoples and all ethnicities, and cannot be dedicated to the art of an ethnicity or minority. This is a false argument: big nations that had empires in the past do include all types of art in their galleries, many of which is confiscated, but the bulk of the items of art in them is by far by their own peoples. Small nations, on the other hand, include in their national galleries art that reflects their own identity and is produced almost entirely by them. Examples of that are Museu Nacional d’Art de Catalunya, in Barcelona, and of course the galleries of Scotland and Wales.
The idea of a Coptic art gallery is essential for the revival of our nation and the modern cultural renaissance of the Copts. It must happen. Sooner or later, it will.