Heba Khairy

Biography

Heba is a member of the Documentation and Information Affairs Department. Heba manages the Collection Database at the Grand Egyptian Museum (GEM). She works in various storerooms and museums all over Egypt to select, identify and document artefacts to be displayed in GEM. This involves data entry such as taking measurements and photography. Heba keeps object information up to date by referring to register books and resources in libraries, storerooms, and museums. She works with conservators and other departments, providing them with object data including the data related to the conditions of objects. She supports the future display of objects inside the museum galleries by working with the exhibitions team to provide information and identify where more information is needed about the collection.

Since 2020 Heba has also been working in the technical office of the General Director of GEM. In this role she coordinates archaeological work in cooperation with the building contractors and exhibition designer. Heba is also the project coordinator from a new GEM project, The transportation of King Khufu’s solar boat, moving the boat from the Giza plateau to its new home at the museum.

In 2018 Heba started her Joint Master Degree programme at Helwan University in Egypt, and Brandenburg University of Technology Cottbus – Senftenberg in Germany. Her MA is on Heritage Conservation and Site Management and she is preparing her thesis on heritage conservation and community development using the Grand Egyptian Museum as a case study.

Heba participated in the Memphis Site and Community development project and field school by USAID, York University and AERA Ancient Egypt Research Associates. The project aims to conserve and preserve the heritage of Memphis, the Ancient Egyptian Capital, and raise the awareness of the local community. She also participated in the safeguarding and documentation projects of The Mamluk Complex of Sultan Inal Mosque and Madrasa (School) and the ottoman Mosque of Ulty Barmaq in Historic Cairo under the supervision of BTU University, Germany.

At the British Museum
During her time on the International Training Programme 2017, Heba was based in the Department of Egypt and Sudan and spent her partner placement with the Ashmolean Museum of Art and Archaeology, Oxford.

Heba worked with fellow Ala Talebian (Iran) on her exhibition proposal project, entitled The Legend of the Winged Disc: From Egypt to Iran.

Heba’s participation on the International Training Programme was generously supported by the De Laszlo Foundation.

Legacy Projects
In April 2018 Heba attended the ITP Egypt reunion, hosted by the Egyptian Embassy in Cairo.

In October 2018 the ITP supported Heba’s participation in the ICOM International Committee for Egyptology annual conference, held at the Egypt Centre at Swansea University where she delivered her research paper. Heba also attended the Museums and digital memory: from creation and curation to digital preservation conference at the British Museum during her trip to the UK.

In November 2018 Heba participated in the ITP MA Conference programme in Belfast. With fellows from Kenya, Lesotho and Turkey Heba attended a programme structured around National Museums Northern Ireland and the 3-day MA Conference on Dissent: inspiring hope, embracing change.

In 2020, Heba attended the International Training Programme’s series of online subject specialist sessions. Heba attended:
Circulating Artefacts: A global platform against the looting and trafficking of cultural property
Setting up a Subject Specialist Network (SSN)

ITP Newsletter Publications
ITP Newsletter Issue 8 (2021) Bulletin board: The Grand Egyptian Museum: a new culture, heritage and community hub in Egypt