Building the Future Together: EES Fest Success

Embroidery session at the EES London Premises during the Read, Make, Play takeover event with Hekayyatna.

It’s a transformative time in the history of the Egypt Exploration Society. Our Building the Future campaign has brought a major redevelopment for our premises onto the horizon, with permissions secured and our collections relocated to offsite storage to make way for construction work. With the prospect of a regenerated EES and exciting new offerings for members, researchers, and the wider public, there is much to look forward to and a lot to look back on and be grateful for. To mark this moment, in June we embarked upon a month-long celebration of all the EES has achieved and is moving towards: EES Fest.

Carl Graves introducing The Mummy (1999) for our film screening at The Garden Cinema.

The festival programme included in-house events like an open day, a book auction, a virtual quiz, and a hybrid study day broadcast from the School of African and Oriental Studies (SOAS). We even took over Bloomsbury’s Garden Cinema for an evening to screen the 1999 nostalgic classic ‘The Mummy’, in fond memory of our former Vice-Chair John J. Johnston. We are also very grateful to Bolton Museum and the Southampton Ancient Egypt Society, who held events on behalf of the EES. 

Dr Carl Graves (left of panel) chairing the discussion session of the Hybrid Study Day located at SOAS with online speakers Dr Campbell Price (top left of screen) and Dr Dina Bakhoum (top right of screen), and in-person speakers Prof Doris Behrens-Abouseif (middle of panel) and Dr Jennifer Cromwell (right of panel).

Alongside this already lively schedule, we collaborated with the SWANA-led events and production company Hekayyatna on a series of takeover events and installations. Our partnership resulted in a photography exhibition, a crafting and games evening, a children and families activity day, and a supper club, all showcasing Egyptian culture (both ancient and modern) and deepening ties with the Egyptian diaspora community.

As much as EES Fest was a celebration of the Society’s past and future, a key goal was also to raise funds for the Building the Future campaign itself. We are incredibly grateful to report that the events helped raise more than £50,000. Thank you to the almost 600 people who participated, and to all who have supported our campaign up to this point. It’s because of you that this exciting new chapter is possible; we hope that you will continue to support us as we move forward with making the campaign’s vision a reality. Thank you, too, to our incredible team of volunteers who worked tirelessly to facilitate the events. Thanks also go to the local businesses who supported our auction to raise extra funds. We couldn’t have done it without you!

If you missed the EES Fest but would still like to be part of building an innovative, accessible, and sustainable future for the Egypt Exploration Society, you can join one of our giving groups. Stay tuned for more news as our exciting transformation gets underway!