Hekaya is a museum for art, photography and culture in Egypt.

There’s a really popular saying that says that taking pictures is how we freeze a moment in time. Those moments accumulate and they form what is called history. This museum proposes a new approach to what a museum could be. Instead of alienating the viewer with unattainable and often strictly visually observed objects, it invites him into a very humane experience that tells the tales and experiences of the past. This is not your typical museum, rather a “Hekaya”.

The tactility of film is what makes it so popular nowadays in an age where everything seems to be viewed instead of experienced. This is the cornerstone of the spatial experience of the museum, which encourages the visitor to interact with the exhibits and feel the stories. This is not shying away from the virtual experience, it is presented in the movement of those moments frozen in time through scan-able QR codes, an accompanying website and a filter on Instagram.

Hekaya aims to evoke emotions through focusing on unrecognizable crops of the images, rather than figurative representation of the image. The visual identity follows the museum’s bold expression, to resonate with a feeling through experiencing the museum’s visuals. This explores the idea of transforming and blurring boundaries and asking the visitor ‘what do you see?’ Instead of enforcing something on him.