In the exhibition ” Traces of Nuba,” Eight Women Artists reimagine Nubia through their work. Those women offered a fresh golden vision of Nubian Heritage through their own lens.
The exhibition, held at Access Art Space in Cairo, brings together the work of: Aurelie Berry, Hedayat Islam, Juliet Williams, Karen Williams, Katia Berezovskaya, Nada Mobarak, Rachel Goodison, and Sabrine El Hossamy. Their work represented the golden vision of Nubia.
During their residency in Nubia, the artists created these pieces by immersing themselves in the region’s landscape, culture, and spiritual atmosphere.
The exhibition’s title draws from the Arabic El Nuba and the ancient Egyptian word nüb, meaning gold. Therefore, the artists choose to offer a human celebration of Nubia without recalling narratives of extraction and loss. They portray more generosity, resilience, and cross-cultural connection through their artwork.
Traces of Nuba invited viewers to see Nubia not as a place defined by loss, but as a radiant, enduring land, a spiritual and cultural gift that continues to inspire across borders and generations.
Through sculpture, painting, video, and mixed media, the artists used recycled and found materials to explore Nubia’s rich history. Their work is inspired by Nubian communities, the Nile, the sun, and the desert. These elements come together in warm and meaningful artworks.
“Nuba is a Different World”
Artist Sabrine El Hossamy, also known as Sabrine Darbuka, extends artistic expression beyond visual form into rhythm, performance, and storytelling. As a darbuka artist, filmmaker, and visual artist, her work reflects Nubia’s cultural pulse, its traditions, voices, and emotional resonance.
“The base of the tabla is made from clay and Nile fish skin. I’m really drawn to the Nile theme because it’s the most beautiful thing about Nubia,” Sabrine said.
Her perspective portrays a Nubia that breathes through sound, movement, and contemporary creative expression rather than remaining frozen in history.
Language of material
Sculptor Hedayat Islam work explores mythology, protection, and the female form as a keeper of memory. Also, she approaches sculpture as a way of preserving emotional and cultural narratives.
“I love the story of Isis, a goddess in ancient Egypt, and Osiris, god of the afterlife in ancient Egypt. I think they represent all different stages of strength of a woman and her life,” Hedayat highlighted how Egyptian mythology affected her work.
She used raw materials such as clay, plaster, and bronze, creating surfaces that feel aged and alive. Moreover, it reflects Nubia’s layered histories and enduring presence.
Echoes of the Innocent
The artist Nada Mobarak approaches her work through human subjects and symbolic imagery. Her background working with communities across Egypt informs her perspective, grounding her artistic vision in lived experience and social connection. Nada’s work reflects Nubia not only as a landscape but also as a human space shaped by memory, resilience, and identity.
The war in Palestine influenced her work for this exhibition. “When I went to this residency, I was watching a year and a half of Gaza,” Nada said. “I went very reluctantly… I didn’t want anything to distract me from the work I am doing on that.
Feeling that ” We have failed to protect children everywhere,” Nada focused on innocence and body language. She followed James Baldwin’s quote: “Children are always ours all over the globe.”
Eight Eyes, One Living Landscape
What emerges from Traces of Nuba is not a single narrative, but a cluster of perspectives. Eight Women Artists Reimagine Nubia revealing a different aspect of it such as its physical textures, its spiritual depth, its emotional weight, and its cultural endurance.
Through different artistic pieces, we don’t just see Nubia; we experience its translation, interpretation, and soul.