Abstract

Quilting the Memoir: The Cultural Imaginary of Egyptian Jewry engages with three central research issues. First, it explores the role of digital storytelling and memory in articulating the cultural heritage of Egyptian Jewry. Second, it examines the relationships between individual memories, cultural memories, and the cultural imaginary of Egyptian Jewry. Finally, it seeks to understand how personal memoirs and memory objects might find alternative forms of artistic expression in a time-based media installation.
Quilting the Memoir is a research-creation journey that spans a decade, resulting in three separate components – a written dissertation, a WordPress site https://quiltingthememoir.wordpress.com/ and an exhibition of original digital artefacts. Focusing on the mid-20th century exodus of Jews from Egypt and turning to alternative and aesthetic sites of inquiry, this research-creation project aims to generate insight into the ways we remember and represent the past and imagine the future. As a research-creation thesis, Quilting the Memoir demonstrates the value of an engagement with public works, cultural imaginaries and modes of remembering that materialize in alternative research outcomes such as a time-based media installation comprised of digital memory quilts exhibited in a gallery.