Norhan Hassan Salem (Noor Hassan)

Biography

Norhan is a Dynamic Museum Curator with 13 years of experience in Digital Documentation, Exhibition Design, Cultural-Educational Events, and Heritage Management at the Egyptian Museum in Cairo (EMC). She is a Member of the Technical Office to the General Director, and in addition, she works as an Exhibition Coordinator in the Temporary Exhibition and Museum Display Department. She is involved in several areas of the museum and participates in the implementation of temporary and permanent exhibitions and displays: creating exhibition briefs, interpretation materials, and installation. She also organises schedules for all departments’ projects and follows up on their reports, including long and short-term plans.

Norhan previously worked as a Registrar in the Registration Collection Management and Documentation Department (RCMDD) and as a Museum Educator. Norhan was the Archaeological Specialist for the Children’s Museum of Lego. She has worked at (EMC) since 2012 to the present.

Regarding her education; she has a Bachelor’s in Egyptology, a Diploma in History of Art, a Master’s degree in History of Art and Anthropology, with a thesis entitled: “Cartonnage Mummies of the Greco-Roman Era in Egypt, Artistic-Anthropological Study (Applied on unpublished pieces at Egyptian Museum and Nubia Museum)” from the Faculty of Archaeology, Cairo University; and a Diploma in Coptic Archaeology and Art Studies from Centro Culturale Franciscano (CCF).

Currently, Norhan works on preparing her doctoral dissertation in History of Art entitled: “Deity Pataikos in Ancient Egypt until the end of the Roman Period: An Artistic Analytic Comparative Study in the Light of Unpublished Collection preserved in the Egyptian Museum in Cairo” at the Faculty of Archaeology, Fayoum University. Moreover, she is also a recent student in a Diploma of General Education, Faculty of Education, Sadat University.

Norhan also has participated in several national and international projects, such as:

• The Egypt Documentation Project, the British Museum, Department of Egypt and Sudan, and The Ministry of Antiquities
• The Memphis Site and Community Development project (MSCD), Ancient Egypt Associates (AERA), University of York, and the Ministry of Antiquities
• The Egyptian Coffins Conservation Project (EMCCP), the ARCE and the American Embassy in Cairo
• The Egyptian-European Project of Transforming the Egyptian Museum in Cairo.

Now, Norhan works on the Egyptian Museum’s Bioarchaeology Remains Curation Project with the Institute for Bio-Archaeology, London, Bani Suef University, and the EMC.

Norhan is an active ICOM member and usually participates in its conferences, workshops, and meetings. She was awarded twice with the Best Practice Award from ICOM – CECA in 2022 and 2024.

At the British Museum
During her time on the 2017 ITP, Noor was based in the Department of Egypt and Sudan and spent her partner placement at Bristol Museums, Galleries and Archives.

In 2017 participants were asked to develop a proposal for an Asahi Shimbun Display – a temporary exhibition in Room 3 at the British Museum – based around a ‘spotlight’ object.  Norhan worked with fellow Zulkifli bin Ishak (Curator, Islamic Arts Museum Malaysia) on her exhibition proposal project, entitled Royal Headgear: Symbolism, Protection and Kingship.

Legacy projects
In October 2018 Noor attended the ITP+ Course on Museum Interpretation in Aswan. Fellows and colleagues from Egypt, Sudan and around the world listened to interpretation case studies and participated in project work, sessions on label & panel writing and panel discussions on audience surveys and evaluations. The course was hosted by the Nubia Museum.