Join us for a special evening bringing together artists from Egypt, London-based creatives, researchers, and those interested in contemporary Egyptian music, sound art, and archives.

We’re thrilled to welcome Sara Hamdy, our Beyond 1932 Residency artist for March, who will give her first public lecture on Sonic Spaces — an online archival platform dedicated to documenting and promoting sound studies and creative sonic endeavors in Egypt—prior to her performance at the Greenwood Theatre.

The evening will also feature a video installation by Shadwa Ali, whose work explores urban space, sound, and social memory, capturing the overlooked rhythms of cities like Cairo and Alexandria.This event is open to all and hosted in partnership with Counterpoint Arts.

Please RSVP by emailing rim.j.irscheid@kcl.ac.uk.

The event will take place at St Pancras Clock Tower London (next to St. Pancras Renaissance Hotel London, Euston Rd, Kings Cross, London NW1 2AR).

Public Lecture: "From Outer-Space to a Space and Vice Versa" (Sara Hamdy)

In this introductory presentation, Sara Hamdy presents her artistic journey as an Egyptian, visual, sound artist and sonic researcher, exploring the complex dynamics of language as a tool for communication and sound as a means of connection. She focuses on the structural transformations within the architecture of language—both human and non- human—using sound and its gestures as an alternative approach to deconstruct these languages and the violence embedded in them, through engagement with nature and ecological contexts, throughout processes of translation and interpretation.

By tracing her studies of bird calls, outer space signals, and diverse architectural structures such as public shelters "Gardens and Mosques,” and mental health institutions, the lecture reveals how obsession and madness and unnecessary signals, can be expressed as solidarity action and therapeutic practice.She also showcases how her project Sonic Spaces started as a collaborative platform for producing sonic knowledge based on intellectual exchange, living archiving, and coordination. The lecture raises critical questions about archiving, narratives, and truth, inviting audiences to redefine communication methods through sound, opening new doors to understanding ourselves and the world around us, and reclaiming our agencies and inner voices.

Speakers' Info:

Sara Hamdy is an Egyptian visual and sound artist whose practice explores the intersections of language, sound, and space through interdisciplinary research. She is the third artist-in-residence in the Music Department at King’s College London and the founder/curator of the Sonic Spaces project, a participatory archival space that engages with sound-related artistic and research projects across Egypt and the Arab world. Hamdy graduated in fine arts at the Helwan University in Cairo (2009), and participated in exhibitions and residency programs in Egypt, the Arab region and Europe, such as HWP program at Ashkal Alwan foundation in Lebanon (2013), Mass Alexandria program (2016), Pro-Helvetia residency at PROGR Art Center in Bern (2019), and “Youth-led Cultural and Civic Initiatives” of the All-Around Culture program (2021).

Shadwa Ali is an independent audio and visual artist from Alexandria, graduated from Alexandria University’s Faculty of Fine Arts. Her multidisciplinary work spans printmaking, installation, video, sound, and music. Shadwa explores societal issues and human psychology, focusing on the chaotic routines of cities like Cairo and Alexandria and the impact of significant events on social memory and behaviour. Her work highlights unnoticed details and the absurdity of reality. She has exhibited her work in Egypt and internationally and has been featured on various international radio programs.