Saturday Lecture Series: Ramses Street

Join archaeologist Candace Richards for the fifth of our Saturday Lecture Series, where we explore the entwined histories of Egypt and early modern Australia, in an effort to understand how Egypt’s cultural heritage found its way Down Under.

In the 1980s, a new wave of Egyptomania emerged in Australia with the first touring exhibition from Cairo, but Australia’s fascination with Egypt’s ancient past had begun in the 19th century. Our attraction to the ancient world endured throughout the political swings and design trends of the early 20th century, and grew as Egypt hosted ANZACs for deployment in both World Wars.

Come on a journey to ‘Ramses Street’ as we explore the legacy of Ancient Egypt in Australia and discuss the current shift to untangle and address colonial narratives in museums. Hosted by Dr Randa Abdel-Fattah.

Recorded live at the Australian Museum on 23 March 2024, as part of the Gateway to Egypt program series, created to support Ramses & the Gold of the Pharaohs exhibition.

Candace Richards is the assistant curator of the Nicholson Collection and has been part of the Sydney University Museums team for more than 15 years. Candace's research interests bring together ancient world studies with contemporary museum practice to re-evaluate how and why collections were formed and explore the ways archaeology and antiquities collections can offer new insights into human endeavour. Candace is an archaeologist interested in Mediterranean and Balkan archaeology and has worked on research and commercial excavations in Europe and Australia.

Dr Randa Abdel-Fattah is a Future Fellow in the School of Social Sciences at Macquarie University.

She is a prominent Australian Palestinian advocate with Egyptian heritage. Dr Abdel-Fattah is a multi award-winning author of 12 books whose young adult and children’s books are published in over twenty countries.

This literary corpus primarily deals with intercultural relations, migration, race/religious issues in Australia, identity, belonging and political consciousness among young Australians, both Muslim and non-Muslim. She is well known for her commentary as a public intellectual, her media appearances and her essay and op-ed writing across a wide range of genres.

Her most recent academic books are Coming of Age in the War on Terror (forthcoming, 2021 NewSouth Publishing) and Islamophobia and Everyday Multiculturalism (Routledge 2017).

Macquarie University is a Program Partner for the Australian Museum’s Gateway to Egypt program, part of the Ramses and the Gold of the Pharaohs exhibition.