Peripheral – The Art Scene in Cairo
5.9.2006
Introduction
(PDF-Version: 95 KB)
I was born in Cairo in 1974. After a first degree in business administration and economics, and a brief stunt in the world of multinationals, I decided to pursue my interest in photography through self-education. I have been working as a photographer since 1998, supporting my artistic practice by working as a commercial photographer and stylist for advertising. In 2002, I completed an MA in Image and Communication at Goldsmiths College, University of London and lectured on Photography at the American University in Cairo between 2002 and 2003. In 2003, I co-organised the second edition of PhotoCairo, the first festival in Egypt dedicated to photography. In 2004, I curated an exhibition entitled "in a furnished flat in Cairo"a site specific project that brought together Swiss and Egyptian artists in the context of a Cairene domestic space and "The image, the construct, the self" an exhibition of young artists working with photography. In 2005, I co-founded of the Contemporary Image Collective, an artist run initiative based in Cairo and dedicated to the visual image. I exhibited my work in various venues around the world. I am currently artist in residence in the Rijksakademie van Beeldende Kunsten in Amsterdam.
I was asked to talk to you today about my practice and to contextualize it within the contemporary art scene in Cairo. The title of my latest video and photographic project is peripheral, which I also see as befitting of the presentation as a whole.
Peripheral according to the dictionary definition is understood as "at or relating to the edge of something, as opposed to its center" or "minor or incidental in importance or relevance".
The art scene in Cairo stands at the periphery of the international art scene. Also the art scene that I consider myself part of stands at the periphery of the "official" art scene of Egypt. So in this presentation, I will touch on both of those positions. In no way, the art scene in Cairo is peripheral in the understanding of the word as minor or incidental in importance in relevance. In effect, Cairo´s scene is one that has grown considerably in importance in the last ten years in both the amount and quality of production for Cairo to assume a position at the centre of art production in the Middle East and a place where international curators come regularly looking for new "discoveries".
I will first start by briefly over-viewing the climate of artistic production on a local level, then move on to discuss issues related to the position of Cairo vis-à-vis the Western context of art production, then move on to discuss the works of 5 artists from Cairo as illustrative of the various interesting works that is produced and I will conclude by talking about my own practice.
In no way should you consider this as an academic/authoritative paper, since I am not an academic. I have been asked to be present in this venue in my capacity as a practitioner and an active member in the artist community in Cairo. In the quasiabsence of local critical writing about the region where I am based, I choose to have as my references for this talk, papers that came my way through friends or acquaintances, but also mainly first-hand experiences and personal accounts by participants in the scene.
Blog
Bundeskongress Politische Bildung
Mehr als 900 Teilnehmer diskutierten auf dem Bundeskongress Politische Bildung (21.-23.5) über das Zeitalter der Partizipation. Impressionen, Interviews und Artikel zu den einzelnen Veranstaltungen finden Sie im Blog zum Bundeskongress. Weiter...
5. Fundraising-Tag der politischen Bildung - 10. Juni 2011, Köln (KOMED)
Für immer mehr Bildungseinrichtungen wird es unausweichlich, ein professionelles Fundraising aufzubauen. Während des Fundraising-Tages organisieren die Beteiligten seit nunmehr fünf Jahren einen Wissenstransfer. Im Rahmen von acht Workshops wurden konkrete Aktionen und Konzepte des Fundraisings für die politische Bildung vorgestellt und diskutiert. Weiter...
Zeitschriftbpb:magazin
Aus drei mach eins! Kannten Sie bisher das Publikationsverzeichnis, den Veranstaltungskalender und den Flyer für die Studienreisen, so bietet das bpb:magazin den Service dieser drei Publikationen und viele weitere interessante Informationen nun aus einer Hand. Weiter...
Themen und MaterialienCompasito
COMPASITO bietet Praxisanregungen für Multiplikatoren, die sich mit Menschenrechtsbildung für sieben- bis dreizehnjährige Kinder befassen wollen. Das Buch macht mit den wichtigsten Begriffen der Menschen- und Kinderrechte vertraut und vermittelt theoretisches Hintergrundwissen zu 13 Menschenrechtsthemen. Weiter...
Themen und MaterialienFreiheit, Gleichheit, Gerechtigkeit-Werteordnung und Wertevermittlung
Werte gewinnen in der Gesellschaft wieder an Bedeutung, gerade auch im Schulalltag. Dies stellt den Unterricht vor neue Herausforderungen. Für die Schule und die außerschulische Bildung liefern die zwölf Bausteine des Bandes Vorschläge zur Beschäftigung mit Bereichen unserer Werteordnung. Weiter...
SonstigeEuropa - Das Wissensmagazin für Jugendliche - Schülerheft
Wer macht Was in Europa? Was ist die Europäische Union? Mit vielen Aufgaben, Quizfragen und Diskussionsideen im Wissensmagazin können Jugendliche sich das Thema Europa erschließen. Weiter...