In conversation with Wael Shawky, Federico Campagna and Romy Wyche

The Tower
Auditorium, Level 1
On November 02, 2025

To mark the closing of the exhibition I Am the Hymns of the New Temples, LUMA Arles welcomes artist Wael Shawky, in discussion with Romy Wyche (Director of the Musée départemental Arles Antique), and Federico Campagna (author of Otherworlds: Mediterranean Lessons on Escaping History).

The discussion will intersect Shawky’s cinematic approach to myths, Campagna’s theories on alternative worldviews, and Wyche’s archaeological insights into antiquity. Together, they will examine the depiction of historical and mythological narratives, weaving together Mediterranean heritage and contemporary storytelling.

Practical Information
Date: Sunday, November 2
Time: 11:00 a.m. to 12:30 p.m.
Place: The Tower, Auditorium (1st floor)
Price: Free admission, booking required

The discussion will take place in English.

SOLD OUT

Online reservations are fully booked. A limited number of spots may be available on site, subject to capacity.

Wael Shawky

Wael Shawky (b. 1971, Alexandria) is a leading contemporary artist from the Middle East, known for blending fact and fiction across diverse media, including drawing, painting, performance, and installation, focusing on film and video. Through lyrical visuals and extensive inquiry into history and mythology, he reinterprets Middle Eastern historical narratives, challenging fixed Western perspectives. His epic films explore artistic, religious, and transnational identities, offering a nuanced dialogue that bridges cultures rather than without privileging one perspective over another.

Shawky is widely recognized for works such as the Cabaret Crusades trilogy (2010–2015), which uses marionettes to reenact the history of the medieval Crusades from an Arab perspective; the Al Araba Al Madfuna trilogy (2012–2016), which reimagines myths through performances by child actors; and Drama 1882 (2024), showcased at the Egypt Pavilion of the 2024 Venice Biennale.

Based in Alexandria, Egypt, and Philadelphia, USA, Wael Shawky has held numerous major solo exhibitions, including at Daegu Art Museum (2024), the Egypt Pavilion at the Venice Biennale (2024); M Leuven in Belgium (2022); the Modern Art Museum of Fort Worth, Texas (2021); Castello di Rivoli Museum of Contemporary Art and the Fondazione Merz in Turin (2016); MoMA PS1 in New York (2015), Serpentine Galleries in London (2013–14); and KW Institute for Contemporary Art in Berlin (2012). His participation in significant group exhibitions includes the Sharjah Biennial (2025, 2019, 2013); Istanbul Biennial (2015, 2005); documenta in Kassel (2012); Gwangju Biennale (2012); and the Venice Biennale (2003). In addition to his artistic practice, Shawky founded MASS Alexandria in 2015, an independent art school in Alexandria that supports emerging artists in the region.

His works are part of major international museum collections, including the Museum of Modern Art in New York; Tate Modern in London; Mathaf: Arab Museum of Modern Art in Doha; Sharjah Art Foundation; National Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art (MMCA), Korea; Guggenheim Abu Dhabi; MACBA in Barcelona; and the National Gallery of Canada.

Shawky has received many awards for his work, including the Honorary Citizenship of the City of Palermo (2017); the Sharjah Biennial Award (2013); Award for the Filmic Oeuvre created by Louis Vuitton; Kino der Kunst, Munich (2013); Abraaj Capital Art Prize, Dubai, joint winner (2012); Schering Stiftung Art Award, Berlin (2011); Grand Prize, 25th Alexandria Biennale (2009). In 2011, he was an Artist in Residence at The Center for Possible Studies, Serpentine Gallery, London. He lives between Alexandria and Philadelphia.

Federico Campagna

Federico Campagna is an Italian philosopher based in London. His work revolves around the metaphysical aspects of imagination and the possibility of modifying the present “reality-system”. His latest books, Otherworlds: Mediterranean Lessons On Escaping History (Bloomsbury, 2025), Prophetic Culture (Bloomsbury, 2021) and Technic and Magic (Bloomsbury, 2018) explored how ‘worlds’ can be born, destroyed, and created anew. In The Last Night (2013), he looked at contemporary work as a form of religion. His books have been translated in German, Italian, Norwegian (forthcoming), Spanish, and Turkish.

Federico Campagna works as Lecturer in Philosophy and World-Building at The Architectural Association (London) and ECAL (Lausanne). He is the co-founder of the Italian philosophy publisher Timeo, the director of rights at the Anglo-American radical publisher Verso Books, and editorial consultant for philosophy, theology and mythology for the Italian publisher Einaudi. He holds a PhD from the Royal College of Art, an MA from Goldsmiths University of London, and a MSc and BSc from Bocconi University in Milan.

He frequently collaborates as public speaker, podcaster and writer with some of the main international museums, contemporary art galleries and biennales. His work has been presented in numerous international institutions, including the Beyeler Foundation, Basel; the Venice Biennale; documenta, Kassel, Germany; Tate Modern, London; Transmediale, Berlin; Serpentine Gallery, London; Jameel Art Centre, Dubai; MACBA – Barcelona Museum of Contemporary Art; and MAXXI – National Museum of 21st Century Art, Rome.

Romy Wyche

Romy Wyche is an art historian specializing in ancient Roman sculpture. She currently serves as Director of the Musée départemental Arles antique. She has previously held research positions at the Universities of Oxford and Oslo. Throughout her career, she has collaborated with several major cultural and heritage institutions, including UNESCO, the Bode Museum in Berlin, and the National Museum of Archaeology in Lisbon.

This event is part of the exhibition I Am Hymns of the New Temples by Wael Shawky, on view at LUMA Arles until November 2, 2025.

In conversation with Wael Shawky, Federico Campagna and Romy Wyche

Wael Shawky

Federico Campagna

Romy Wyche

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