Inji Efflatoun was born in 1924 in a family of the French-speaking nobility of Cairo. She was educated in a strict Catholic school, before attending the French high school in Cairo, where she was introduced to communism. At the age of 15, she began to paint and studied with Kamel el-Telmissany, one of the representatives of Egyptian surrealism. Under Telmissany’s influence, Efflatoun became involved in the “Art and Freedom” movement, a gathering of innovative socialists that had an impact on her early work.
Within this movement, Efflatoun clearly expressed her political positions. She participated in a 15-year lobbying effort for women’s rights. She was perhaps the first woman to focus on creation at Cairo College and helped found the Young Women’s Academic League and Institutes in 1945, which advocated for gender equality and left-wing anti-colonialism.
Over the years, Efflatoun worked in several professions, including educator and journalist, and participated in activities in Egypt and Europe for women’s rights and harmony. During the 1950s, her reputation as a painter grew in the Egyptian and international creative world, and her work was shown at the Venice Biennale in 1952 and the São Paulo Biennale in 1953.
Inji Efflatoun is a leading figure in socialist and activist art in Egypt. Her contribution to art and the cause of women continues to echo in Egyptian and international cultural history.
Inji Efflatoun was born in 1924 into a French-speaking noble family in Cairo. She waseducated in astrict Catholic school before attending the French high school in Cairo, where she was introduced to communism. At the age of 15, she began to paint and studied with Kamel el-Telmissany, one of the representatives of Egyptian surrealism. Under Telmissany’s influence, Efflatoun became involved in the “Art and Freedom” movement, a gathering of innovative socialists that had an impact on her early work.
Within this movement, Efflatoun clearly expressed her political positions. She participated in a 15-year lobbying effort for women’s rights. She was perhaps the first woman to focus on creation at Cairo College and helped found the Young Women’s Academic League and Institutes in 1945, which advocated for gender equality and left-wing anti-colonialism.
Over the years, Efflatoun worked in several professions, including educator and journalist, and participated in activities in Egypt and Europe for women’s rights and harmony. During the 1950s, her reputation as a painter grew in the Egyptian and international creative world, and her work was presented at the Venice Biennale in 1952 and the São Paulo Biennale in 1953.
Inji Efflatoun is a leading figure in socialist and activist art in Egypt. Her contribution to art and to the cause of women continues to echo in Egyptian and international cultural history.