Per Ankh Cultural is a community organisation devoted to Egyptian heritage — its languages, crafts, stories, and sciences — kept alive through study, practice, and gathering.
In ancient Egypt, the Per Ankh was the scriptorium attached to a temple: part library, part school, part workshop, where scribes copied sacred texts, physicians studied medicine, and craftsmen learned their trade. It was a living institution — knowledge that stayed in use, not knowledge locked away.
We borrow the name because we share the purpose. Per Ankh Cultural exists to keep Egyptian heritage in active use: taught in classrooms, spoken at gatherings, shaped by hand, and passed from one generation to the next — not preserved behind glass, but lived.
Founded by a small group of historians, artisans, and teachers, we now run year-round programs open to anyone drawn to this history, whether by ancestry, curiosity, or craft.
Weekly classes in Egyptian Arabic, Coptic, and introductory Middle Egyptian hieroglyphs, taught by native speakers and philologists.
Hands-on workshops in papyrus-making, khayamiya textile work, and traditional metal inlay, taught alongside working artisans.
Oral history recording, archival digitisation, and community grants that support families documenting their own histories.
Public lectures, school partnerships, and a growing children's Saturday program built around storytelling and history.
Language classes and the children's Saturday program open enrolment for the new year.
Papyrus-making and textile workshops run in short, focused weekend sessions.
Our annual push to record and archive family and community histories, open to all.
A public celebration of the year's work — exhibitions, demonstrations, and shared food.
"What is kept in use is never truly lost — it only waits for the next hand to hold it."— Per Ankh Cultural, founding charter
Membership supports our programs directly and gives you priority enrolment in classes and workshops, plus invitations to member-only gatherings.
Join as a member →We're always looking for teachers, craftspeople, translators, and event help. If you have a skill worth passing on, we want to hear from you.
Offer your time →Donations and partnerships fund our oral history archive, scholarship spots for students, and the tools our craft workshops depend on.
Support Per Ankh →Have a question about classes, want to volunteer, or just curious what we're about? Send us a note — a real person reads every message.