Gabriella Nugent’s Inji Efflatoun and the Mexican Muralists: Imaging Women and Work between Egypt and Mexico explores how Efflatoun, an Egyptian artist, communist and activist in the women’s movement, adopted the language and philosophy of Mexican muralism to address the modern political situation in Egypt. The essay traces Efflatoun’s relationship with key figures in the Mexican mural movement, including David Alfaro Siqueiros, Diego Rivera and José Clemente Orozco, and explores the ways in which she challenged the masculinist assumptions of artistic modernism.

An art historian and curator based in London, Nugent was the recipient of Sharjah Art Foundation’s Publishing Grant in 2020. Organised annually by the Foundation, the Grant supports original research and projects that take an experimental and innovative approach to bookmaking.