Heba Khairy

Biography

Heba is currently Senior Specialist for Heritage Preservation and Management, at the Public Investment Fund (PIF), Soudah Development in Saudi Arabia.

Heba provides strategic leadership for a portfolio of Saudi high-strategic impact projects that bridge the gap between conserving the past and empowering present-day communities.

Heba is responsible for leading complex initiatives at the intersection of museums and heritage management, archaeological research, and community outreach and engagement. She is instrumental in developing and executing strategies that not only protect Saudi Arabia’s invaluable historical assets but also integrate them into the nation’s modern cultural and economic fabric.

Heba operates on the conviction that heritage is a living, dynamic resource. Her work goes beyond preservation for its own sake; she actively transforms museums and heritage sites into platforms for education, community identity, and sustainable growth. By making heritage relevant and accessible, she helps build a resilient cultural sector that honours Saudi Arabia’s profound history while contributing to its vibrant future.

Previously she was Senior Curator and project Coordinator at the Grand Egyptian Museum, where she was responsible for coordinating the allocation project for King Khufus’s boat, management of GEM’s exhibitions and fit-out work with designers, consultants, contractors and subcontractors.

Heba previously managed the Collection Database at the Grand Egyptian Museum. She worked in various storerooms and museums all over Egypt to select, identify and document artefacts to be displayed in GEM.

In 2020 Heba obtained her Joint master’s degree programme at Helwan University in Egypt, and Brandenburg University of Technology Cottbus – Senftenberg in Germany. Her MA focused on Nurturing and Safeguarding Intangible Cultural Heritage through museums.

In 2023 Heba spent an amazing fellowship as Fulbright PhD scholar working inside the Egypt Art department, at the Metropolitan Museum of Art (MET) in New York, USA.  Her project revolved around the collection management procedures and policies that the MET maintain for the best governance and management of its collection. This was in addition to working closely with the collection management system and the Digital Assets system of the MET. She also spent time dealing with other MET departments which are involved in the collection management process and policy makers.

In 2024 Heba successfully gained her PhD in Cultural Heritage and Museums Studies.  Her thesis, entitled “Collection Management and Documentation Practices in Egyptian Museums: A Comparative Study,” investigates the collection management and documentation policies, procedures, and the digital collection management systems (Databases) of three major museums: the Metropolitan Museum of Art (MET) in New York, the Egyptian Museum in Cairo (EMC), and the Grand Egyptian Museum (GEM) in Giza.

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.

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. 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)

Through 2022, working with colleagues in the Department of Egypt and Sudan, Heba co-curated a display in Room 4, the Egyptian Sculpture Gallery, at the British Museum.  This project was to enable the British Museum to commemorate the centenary of the discovery of the tomb of Tutankhamun, which was opened in November 1922.  The theme of the case was the legacy of Tutankhamun and how he is viewed by Egyptians today.  The display formed the last stop on a short Tutankhamun trail which focused on the political and religious background of Tutankhamun’s reign. Heba was also able to support the British Museum’s Asahi Shimbun display in Room 3. The exhibition, Tutankhamun: reimagined, sought to explore both ancient and modern Egyptian relationships with the image of Tutankhamun, by placing both ancient and contemporary objects alongside each other.

ITP Newsletter Publications
ITP Newsletter Issue 8 (2021) Bulletin board: The Grand Egyptian Museum: a new culture, heritage and community hub in Egypt
ITP Newsletter Issue 10 (2023) Tutankhamun Reimagined: ITP co-curation project

Continued Dialogue
In May 2023, Heba gave an online talk titled The Grand Egyptian Museum: A New Edifice for Egyptian Heritage for Lakeside Arts (in partnership with the University of Nottingham Museum and Museum Keeper, Clare Pickersgill).

Heba is now part of the Reimagining the British Museum International Working Group (IWG) which has invited international museum and cultural heritage experts to collaborate with the Museum and support the development of outline briefs for new suites of permanent galleries at the British Museum through online monthly meetings and workshops in London.