This week is ideal for those who live in Cairo’s busy city center, with many events being hosted by various art spaces in downtown, including two solo exhibition openings, a publication launch and two lectures on modern urban development and computer simulations of nature systems. Besides openings, exhibitions at Medrar, Gypsum and Townhouse remain on view this week, while Zawya continues to screen Oscar-buzz-generating musical La La Land.
Kordy’s talk AD(A/O)PTING CONGESTION: Collected objects from collective forms will take place as part of Amgad Naguib’s ongoing exhibition The Past is Always an Invented Land at the Townhouse gallery. The talk — which will be conducted in both English and Arabic — is set to explore congestion as an essential element in Cairo’s urban reality. Read our profile on Kordy here.
From Amgad Naguib’s exhibition: Metro passes belonging to the same man, from the years of his youth to middle age (Photo: Rowan El Shimi)
7 pm, January 14, Townhouse Factory Space, 3 Hussein al-Memar Street, downtown Cairo.
As part of Medrar’s ongoing exhibition Discursiveness, artists Dia Hamed and Youssef Faltas will deliver a lecture and presentation highlighting the physics of nature systems in parallel to computer simulations of reality. The exhibition, which features works by Hamed and works by Swiss artists Yannick Jacquet and Fred Penelle, is ongoing until January 19.
Viscosity by Dia Hamed, as part of Discursiveness at Medrar for Contemporary Art
7 pm, January 14, Medrar for Contemporary Art, 7 Gamal Eddin Abouel Mahassen Street, Garden City, Cairo.
Continuing his reflections on dystopic realities, Ali Abdel Mohsen will present his fourth solo show in his signature style of ink and acrylic drawings on disused cardboard boxes. The self-taught artist, who is also a journalist, has shown his works in Egypt, Denmark, Germany, Qatar and the UAE.
7 pm, January 15, Mashrabia Gallery, 8 Champollion Street, downtown Cairo. Ongoing till February 16, from 11 am until 8 pm, except Fridays. More information here.
A sarcastic take on current events, this exhibition takes its name from a mishmash of clichéd Arabic expressions. Much like the playful title (which translates as “Belly Dancing with Molasses”), we expect these paintings, which utilize Taman’s unique style, to offer a humorous take on popular culture using a colorful mix of symbols and media.
Mohamed Taman, The Badlah / The Suit, 2016 (Courtesy: ArtTalks)
6-9 pm, January 17, ArtTalks, 8 Kamel Mohamed Street, Zamalek, Cairo. The exhibition is ongoing until February 10. Opening hours: Daily from 11am to 8pm, Fridays from 3pm to 8pm. More information here.
Produced in collaboration with Mada Masr on the occasion of the ‘Cairo NOW! City Incomplete‘ exhibition as part of Dubai Design Week, this edition of Cairobserver is focused on design. The exhibition was the first of its kind to celebrate Cairo’s design culture and showcase the work of young designers under one roof. While the stories surrounding the exhibition have already been published on Mada and the first print of the publication was distributed in Dubai, this is the launch of the print edition in its hometown. Cairobserver founder and project curator Mohamed ElShahed will give an introduction, while two videos about the exhibition will be shown along with presentations by featured designers and a Q&A session. Free copies of the issue will be distributed.
(Photo: Ramy Tarek Radwan)
7 pm, January 18, Jameel Auditorium, The Greek Campus, 28 Mohamed Mahmoud Street, downtown Cairo. More information here.
Special thanks to Alexandra Stock for contributing to this edition of our tips.
