AGBU Press Office
55 East 59th Street
New York, NY 10022-1112
Phone: 212.319.6383, x118
Fax: 212.319.6507
Email: press@agbu.org
Website:

PRESS RELEASE

Thursday, April 29, 2010

Saroukhan Exhibition Draws Egyptian Artists, Officials, and Youth

Approximately one hundred works of the late prominent Egyptian-Armenian
illustrator Alexandre Saroukhan were exhibited for Egyptians of all
backgrounds this winter at Egypt’s Bibliotheca Alexandrina from December
9-28, 2009. The exposition drew some three hundred visitors to its
inauguration.

This was the second posthumous Saroukhan exhibit, the first having taken
place in Cairo in 1988, on the hundredth anniversary of his birth.

Saroukhan broke new ground with his political satire cartoons, which
were published in books, international magazines, and newspapers from
the late 1920’s to the late 1970’s.

AGBU Cairo was the principal sponsor of the exhibition, with several
board members and Chairman Dr. Viken Djizmedjian attending the opening.
Also present were AGBU Alexandria staff and Chairman Sarkis Vartsbedian,
AGBU Europe board member Astrid Alexanian, as well as members of
Saroukhan’s family, the Neredians, who provided all the works on
exhibit.

Among the officials, fans, and art enthusiasts who attended the
inaugural event were many young people interested in learning about the
life and work of this great caricaturist, as well as prominent artists
Farouk Shehata, Sarkis Tossounian, Hegazy, Mohamed Abla, Amr Fahmy,
Medhat Nasser and Hrant Keshishian, who coordinated the event.

In speeches, Alexandria Library’s Arts Center Director Maestro Sherif
Mohie El Din and the library’s art consultants, Mostafa El Razzaz and
Farahat Gomaa, highlighted Saroukhan’s immense influence on cartoon art
and the political milieu of Egypt during his lifetime.

As part of AGBU Cairo’s continued commitment to promoting the
Armeno-Egyptian cultural heritage, the chapter printed banners,
brochures and a 24-page booklet on Saroukhan’s life that featured images
of his most famous pieces.

Established in 1906, AGBU () is the world’s largest
non-profit Armenian organization. Headquartered in New York City, AGBU
preserves and promotes the Armenian identity and heritage through
educational, cultural, and humanitarian programs, annually touching the
lives of some 400,000 Armenians around the world.

For more information about AGBU and its worldwide programs, please visit