Shadi Abdel Salam (1930 -1986) was a distinguished artist and an internationally acclaimed filmmaker. He was a highly creative designer of set decorations and costumes, as well as a screenwriter and director. His work reflects a unique vision of the ancient Egyptian culture as well as Islamic and Coptic heritage.

His only feature film The Mummy (The Night of Counting the Years), placed Egyptian cinema on the map of world cinema since its first showing at the International Venetian Film Festival in 1970. The film won the George Sadoul Prize in Paris the same year, and received excellent reviews from Arab and international critics.

The BA began work on the exhibition in 2002 and it was inaugurated on 15 March 2005, on the occasion of the Diamond Jubilee of Shadi Abdel Salam. The valuable legacy in the possession of the Library includes many of the artist’s design sketches and paintings, numerous cinematic shots from films he directed, as well as some of his personal belongings such as pieces of furniture and his book collection.