Caroline Seymour-Jorn Abstract MESA 2018 Art and the Institutions of the Egyptian State and the Region This paper explores the work of two Cairene artists whose recent multi-media art interrogates various governmental institutions—from medical establishments to the postal system—and raise questions about governmental aesthetics and their impact on citizens. While both artists deal with topics concerning Egyptian society, they are both internationally exhibited and think about social issues as they relate to global issues as well, including immigration, agribusiness, and regional social-political change. First, I discuss Salam Yousri’s installations entitled el-mu’assasa el-rasmiyya [The Official Institution] exhibited in Egypt in 2013, and Guideposts exhibited in Sharjah, UAE in 2016. I discuss the exhibits themselves, Yoursri’s stated motivations for the pieces, and his encounter with the Egyptian Ministry of Culture in 2013 during the installation of this highly critical exhibit. Second, I explore Yasmine elMeleegui’s installation Tamaatim [Tomatoes] which explores Egyptian and regional pesticide use and raises questions about the relationship between agribusiness, the physical wellness of citizens, and the authority of states to control food and health. This paper draws upon fieldwork in Cairo from 2012, 2015 and ongoing communications with the artists. Both of these works—as post-revolutionary pieces—represent important reflections on Egyptian and Arab society by sensitive cultural observers. I would also suggest that although the revolutionary process in Egypt may not have brought about what many people wanted, according to some young interlocutors with whom I spoke in the Cairo during January 2012 and July 2015, it has brought many new experiences, small changes, and the idea that people can bring change to their country, the region and the environment. I argue that it is important that we think carefully about the artistic production from each phase of the revolution and post-revolutionary period, as it reveals important things about Egyptian artists and cultural creators, and the history of how they intervene in cultural and political processes.