DIVAS: From Oum Kalthoum to Dalida

The Sursock Museum is pleased to present “DIVAS: From Oum Kalthoum to Dalida”, an exhibition conceived by the Institut du monde arabe.

Following successful presentations in Paris, Amsterdam, and Amman, the exhibition now arrives in Beirut to honor the legacy of iconic female singers of the Arab world and the enduring impact of their art. In the 1960s, Beirut, together with Cairo, was a major center for Arabic music. Figures such as Oum Kalthoum, who performed memorably at the Baalbek Festival; Fayrouz, who achieved international recognition; and Warda and Asmahan, both of Lebanese origin, played a defining role in shaping modern Arabic music and propelling it onto global stage. Despite periods of conflict, Beirut has consistently affirmed its cultural vitality through art, music, theater, and festivals. 

From Oum Koulthoum to Warda Al-Jazairia, Asmahan, and Fayrouz, and from Laila Mourad to Samia Gamal, Souad Hosny, and Sabah, and of course the young Dalida, the exhibition takes visitors on a wonderful journey into the heart of the lives and art of these legendary singers and actresses, and also explores the profound changes they initiated.

Timeless icons, powerful women, and idols who were revered in the post-war Arab societies, these divas with their exceptional careers were acclaimed from Cairo to Beirut and from the Maghreb to Paris, embodying a period of artistic and intellectual effervescence, a new image of women, as well as national political renewal, expressed from the beginning of the 1920s, particularly in Egypt, until the 1970s. The exhibition thus highlights, through these divas, the social history of Arab women and the birth of feminism in these male-dominated societies, their contribution to a cultural pan-Arabism and the fight for independence in the context of colonisation and decolonisation, and above all the key role they played in the various artistic fields that they helped to revolutionise.

To read more about the exhibition, click here

With the contribution of

Donors 

Platinum

Raghida Ghandour

Loubna and Saadallah Khalil Foundation

Elie Saab

Sabbah Group

CMA CGM

Medco

Anonymous

Gold

Raymond Debbane Family Foundation

Asma Freiha

Carole and Carlos Ghosn

Chantal and Alain Gouverneyre

Anita and Joseph Nassar

Maria Sukkar

Saint-Gobain

SKAFF

Tinol 

Silver

Beya and Farid Abdelnour

Andrea and Selim Bassoul

Suzy and Mohamad Daher

Dalia and Ramzi Rishani

Nadine and Mazen Rishani

Anonymous