| ID | 172362 |
| Title Proper | Singing a new future |
| Other Title Information | Egypt’s Choir project |
| Language | ENG |
| Author | Seymour-Jorn, Caroline |
| Summary / Abstract (Note) | This paper explores the creative production of Egypt’s Choir project, a collaborative musical and theatrical group that has provided a context for youth creative, social and political expression since 2010. Drawing upon Richard Bauman’s (1984) multifaceted framework for thinking about emerging art forms, I detail the history and socio-political context of the Choir project’s activities during the period from 2011 until 2018, and engage in close literary analysis of some of its lyrical productions. Since the Choir has emerged and developed in a charged political environment, I take into account the important ways in which it has provided a context for political expression. However, I argue that detailed literary and social analysis of its creative process and production suggests that while the Project can be considered a mode of social and political expression or even resistance, it is also a profoundly creative phenomenon that produces lyrical and dramatic creations, which must be considered in their own right and which also must be understood as powerful modes of personal and even existential expression. I suggest that paying close attention to aesthetic experimentation and style adds an important dimension to our understanding of emerging art forms and the complex set of ideas that they express. Close analysis of the nature of innovative creativity also may help to explain why these forms have been so popular among audiences and the general public, even in the midst of political chaos and uncertainty about the future. |
| `In' analytical Note | Middle East Critique Vol. 29, No.2; 2020: p.119-138 |
| Journal Source | Middle East Critique Vol: 29 No 2 |
| Key Words | Egypt ; Creativity ; Music ; Revolutionary Art ; Choir Project |