Uncover how surrealism developed beyond Europe, and how a collective of artists and writers influenced Cairo’s art scene.

Surrealism in Egypt is the first comprehensive museum exhibition about the Art and Liberty Group (Art et Liberté –jama’at al-fann wa al-hurriyyah). This surrealistically inclined, politically engaged collective of artists and writers lived and worked in Cairo in the late 1930s until the late 1940s.

Although surrealism is widely associated with European artists this exhibition breaks new ground to reveal the wider geographical bases of the movement to offer an expanded view of art history. The Art and Liberty Group emerged out of travel, correspondence and conversation, with international artists such as André Breton or photographer Lee Miller playing an important role in introducing surrealism to the Cairo art scene and influencing its development.

Curated by Tate Liverpool in collaboration with independent curators and academics Sam Bardaouil and Till Fellrath, the exhibition features numerous paintings, photographs and archival documents, most of which will be exhibited for the first time in the UK.