By Ruba Hattar
The Institut du Monde Arabe in Paris is holding a special exhibit on the leading women in the Arab art secene over the past century. The exhibit started on May 19 and will go on until September 26.
From Oum Kalthoum to Warda al-Djazaïria, from Asmahan to Fayrouz, from Laila Mourad to Samia Gamal, via Souad Hosni, Sabah without forgetting the very young Dalida, the exhibition is intended to be a fabulous journey into the heart of lives and of the art of these legendary singers and actresses, but also an exploration of the profound changes they have brought about, the organizers explain.
"Divas, from Oum Kalthoum to Dalida paint epic and astonishing portraits of divas of the "golden age" of Arab song and cinema, through a journey richly nourished with period photographs, often unpublished, by extracts from films or legendary concerts, cinematographic posters with glamorous graphics, magnificent stage dresses, and personal items and rare interviews."
"Singer Warda (1939-2012). Behind the scenes of a box tinged with purple, a color evoking dreams but also melancholy, LP covers and portraits of the divine Warda, at the beach or on stage with her musicians, are on display. Born in Paris in 1939 to a Lebanese mother and an Algerian father, Warda El Djazairia ( the Algerian rose ) began her career at the age of nine in her father's oriental cabaret."
Asmahan (1912-1944) . Asmahan, a figure with a tragic fate, epitomizes freedom and the desire to live intensely despite constraints, whether family, romantic or even political, two feelings dear to divas. Her real name Amal Al-Atrash.
Cinema icons of the time such as Hind Rostom (1926-2011) , the Marilyn of the Orient , and singers and dancers also became actresses in musicals, like Layla Mourad (1918- 1995). Egyptian legends of oriental dance, Samia Gamal (1924-1994) and Tahia Carioca (1919-1999), who popularized this slow and sensual dance in the cinema. .
The famous Lebanese singer with 3,500 songs and fanciful dresses Sabah (1927-2014) , who contributes to the influence of Lebanese music throughout the world, as well as the masterful Dalida (1933-1987), born in Cairo and whose career was launched by the cinema.
"At the Institut du Monde Arabe in Paris, the new exhibition Divas. From Oum Kalthoum to Dalida exposes the brilliant, poetic and sometimes tragic trajectories of these Arab divas, icons of the 20th century." Cosmic Mektoob
