Cairo Arts & Culture

When we spoke to D-CAF's artistic director, Ahmed El-Attar, in the run up to the festival, he hinted that one show to catch on the programme would be by Dutch performing arts company,  Hotel Modern.  In El-Attar's words, their piece, The Great War, is "a landmark in contemporary European theatre" and having secured their presence at D-CAF, Cairo would ensure its rank as a culture capital.  Production began on The Great War over ten years ago when Dutch theatre students, Pauline Kalker and Arlene Hoornweg, founded Hotel Modern and together with Herman Helle conceived a new way of presenting the World War I. Since then, the show has achieved great success on tour in Europe and has also been performed in the Americas and Asia. Tonight, the show will make its Arab World premier, as D-CAF brings another internationally renowned act to a Downtown Cairo stage.  We caught up with Kalker and Helle, together with the show's sound performer, Arthur Sauer, ahead of tonight's opening show. When The Great War first took to the stage in 2001, it was branded innovative and cutting edge; technology has evolved voraciously since then, but Hotel Modern's format has remained the same and their shows still wow audiences with their creative and experimental techniques. The team have dubbed their art form 'live animation film', which involves a multi-platform performance in which WWI is enacted in minute scale, using puppets and models created by Helle. Drawing on his background as an architect, Helle creates the scenery in painstaking detail, with a dab of creative licence. Common garden compost is arranged on a table to depict the grim trench landscape, while for woodland combat, sprigs of parsley are passed off as trees. The intricacy of these sets means that although the audience is party to the live performance taking place on stage before them, cameras are also set up to capture every detail of the action, which is then projected on a big screen behind the artists. The music for each performance is also created live on stage, with no shortage of resourceful innovation, too; throughout the show, Sauer busies himself on stage, composing a chaotic soundtrack fit for a war, using only generic household items. "We originally had in mind a symphony orchestra to provide the sound, but Arthur recommended that we use live sound so that everything happens all together" Kalker explained. The immediacy and starkness of the performance are its greatest assets, which Kalker believes comes from the contrast between the micro and the macro in the piece. At a moment of most heightened intimacy and intensity, created by live action and enhanced through the use of up-close cameras, a hand of one of the puppeteers may enter the shot to relocate a model and thus the illusion is suspended. Far from ruining the atmosphere of the performance, Kalker believes this allows the audience a moment's reflection and creates necessary distance from the events. "If a puppet dies, it seems to really die so it is real, but it is not as disturbing to a viewer's thought process as showing an actual image of a dead body" he told us. The group are clear that what they are presenting is not a history lesson, but instead a study on human nature and its capacity to inflict horror and pain upon the world. Despite ostensibly being about the events of WWI between 1914 and 1918, the company say that their piece aims to communicate the more general concept of war and reflect issues inherent to conflicts that have occurred worldwide throughout history. Hotel Modern proudly buck today's trend of technology for technology's sake; they shun CGI's high spectacle digital processes as they believe their success comes from the fact that people see what they do as accessible and, according to Sauer, think to themselves: "that could happen in my kitchen". By actualising a horrific event such as war in this way, the effects of their performance become all the more emotive and agitating, managing to present a mature and fresh approach to the subject of war. Although the company have encountered one or two problems crossing borders on their international tours – they joke that "the US wouldn't allow us to bring in soil and Singapore took away our coconuts" – the piece's themes and language are still universal, so translating their ideas into new parts of the world has never been a problem. However, they are aware of the new relevance the piece takes on each time it opens in a different city. "It has been said to us that Egypt is going through a slow war" remarks Kalker, and the group agree that they are curious to see how this piece will be received in the capital.  The performance will take place at Falaki Theatre in Downtown Cairo on the 16th and 17th of April at 8PM, in English with Arabic subtitles. Tickets are 20LE (10LE student ticket); for more information, contact tickets@d-caf.org

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We can't say that D-CAF didn't warn us what was coming; for weeks, they've been hard at work preparing for their takeover of Downtown and this weekend saw the curtain finally raised on a month of culture in Egypt's Capital. We went along on Saturday afternoon, to the dusted down Hotel Viennoise, which opened its doors to InterLAB Cairo/ Tele-Exhibition, which will run for the entirety of the festival's program at two venues in the city – Downtown's Hotel Viennoise and Medrar in Garden City. The two venues are linked in real-time and all the pieces allow users in one venue to interact with those in the other, using bazaar and innovative ways. The venue is dingy and run down in the artiest of senses; its walls are adorned with graffiti and peeling wallpaper, either as an original feature or for artistic effect, we couldn't decide. Inside the gallery, the venue has been bought bang up to date with the whole place, dressed to the nines in Wi-Fi and all other sorts of flashing devices, which no doubt do marvellous things.The exhibition is a collaborative work featuring five German artists from Dresden, and another five from Cairo. Who can say whether these ten geniuses are computer geeks or artistic souls, but what they've come up with is somewhere in between the two and in that realm, they've done something pretty fantastic. First off, we ventured into a small curtained-off booth, where a computer screen with a camera attached scanned us, then turned our image on the screen into a mustached gentleman, a beautiful temptress and many more creepy characters. Once we had found our favourite new look, we pressed print, and way over in Medrar gallery our photo was produced, while on our side, photos of those who had visited Medrar were stuck on the walls.Through another door along the eerie corridor, we entered a new artistic dimension, which experimented with what technology can do with sound. We could hear extraterrestrial beeps coming from behind a door hung with a heavy curtain and upon entering we found a web of lasers across the ground and a speaker system set up with a light sensor atop it. By pointing the lights they have hung from the ceiling at the sensor, a recognisable, musical tune could be produced, however, for most of us, they were more of screeches than melodies.At the end of the corridor another room contained half a dinner table, seemingly mid feast, with a large screen set up at the end of it, which was connected via Skype to the other half of the table over at Medrar. A virtual tea party can be had with strangers on the other side of the city, and the cushions on the seats contain sensors which when sat on make lights flash on the table's estranged half.This is not an exhibition for those who are still reeling from the marvels of colour TV, or who fear a robotic revolt any moment, as this gallery marks another step on the way to technology's domination of the world. But it also reveals its softer side to science. Billed by D-CAF as 'the creative playground', we certainly had a lot of fun there, and the artists' abilities to master and adapt technology to their creative whims is fascinating, promising an exciting future for both art and technology.

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After months of preparation, the second edition of the Downtown Contemporary Arts Festival is but a few hours away. This year, the organizers of D-CAF have acquired the talents of musicians, performers and artists to form what has shaped up to be an exciting schedule of unique arts and culture events. Following what was an experimental first festival, this year's proceedings have been built on a clear vision, bringing in some truly one-of-a-kind acts – but what exactly is in store? Here are Cairo 360's stand-out favourites.   The first event comes courtesy of French/Spanish dance company, Man Drake, who – under the tutelage of choreographer, Toméo Vergès, will perform Anaromia Publica at Falaki Theatre for two nights; a showpiece based on the physicality of the human body. Later on the opening day, D-CAF delivers its first dose of music, with Egyptian electro-clash group, Wetrobots < 3 Bosaina and German electronic musicians, Byetone, taking to the stage of Sherazade. Friday 5th sees the first part of Urban Visions; an outdoor contemporary dance performance that will take place in front of the Egyptian Stock Market. Meanwhile, Radio Cinema (Radio Theatre) hosts the first collection of D-CAF's All Night Cinema series, which tonight will screen a trio of acclaimed films from the region of West Africa – till 4AM! In addition, UK theatre company, Bootworks, are set to perfrom The Incredible Book-Eating Boy at Viennoise Hotel over both Friday and Saturday, in addition to book-making workshop for 4-7 year olds. On Sunday 7th, InterLAB Cairo-Dresden launches at Medrar. Having debuted in Cairo in February, the interactive project pits five artists from Egypt and Germany against each other as they explore artificial emotional technology – sounds complicated. The following day, on Monday 8th, more cinema comes via the Goethe Institute's screening of Ivorian film, Burn it Up Djassa (2012); a fictional account of a young man struggling to find his way through life in the Ivorian capital of Abidjan. This is followed on the next day by a screening of Senegalese film, Boul Falle, the Way of Fight, which looks at the violent aftermath of the 1988 Senegalese presidential elections. There are more fun and games at the Goethe Institute on Wednesday 10th where Phillipe Lacôte will speak about the state of West African cinema. Meanwhile, events on Thursday 11th get the weekend off to a good start at Falaki Theatre, where Mustafa Benfodil's End/Igne is performed by Algerian theatre troupe, Compagnie l'Ajouad. Elsewhere, hip-hop is the order of the night at Sherazade, where US artist, Khadafi Dub, is part of a line-up of live music that also includes Syrian rappers DeeKay and Sham MCs. In collaboration between Egypt's own Dia Hamed and Spanish artists, Los Amoros, Augmented Airspaces is a technological piece that allows Cairenes to watch live images of the city taken by a drone that will roam freely around Downtown Cairo. Jumping to Saturday 13th, Falaki Theatre hosts one of the most anticipated performances of the festival – WHITE RABBIT RED RABBIT. Nassim Soleimanpour, who has been banned from leaving his home in Iran, has sent his play on a world tour, including a showing as part of D-CAF. Sunday 14th, meanwhile, sees the long-awaited screening of Hassan Khan's Blind Ambition; a film shot entirely on a mobile phone – madness. Khan will also be present for a Q&A after the screening. We turn our attention back to Falaki Theatre on Tuesday 16th, where Dutch theatre group, Hotel Modern, perform The Great War; a play considered to be a landmark in European theatre. Between Wednesday 17th and Saturday 20th, another of this year's mind-blowing events takes place – SMSlingshot. The interactive piece, created by German art collective, VR/Urban, allows participants to sling virtual messages in public space via an actual slingshot. The weekend of the 18th begins with more live music at Sherazade, as local shaabi favourite, Sadat Rap, performs, as do Lebanese hip-hoppers, El Rass+MUNMA. The weekend continues on Friday 19th with another All Night Cinema, this time screening documentaries about peaceful social movements and civil disobedience around the world. Speaking of which, Radio Cinema/Theatre hosts a screening of Underground/On the Surface on Sunday 21st ; an Egyptian documentary that sees Egyptian filmmaker, Selma El Tarzi explore the rise of shaabi music. Local street artists, Ganzeer, teams up with Yasmine Elayat for Face the Vitrine which runs from Monday 22nd to the end of the festival on Sunday 28th. The interactive piece installs a projection of a face on a shop-front window, sneakily engulfing passersby in the installation. As you can see, there's plenty to see, hear and get involved in, but remember; this is just a snapshot of the festivities to come – check out the Cairo 360 events calendar for more!

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Farghali Abdel Hafiz is an artist known for his representations of the world's great cities including Paris, London and Istanbul, and now his current exhibition focuses on the study of his homeland with 'The Egypt I love …Immortal'. Being held at Zamalek Art Gallery, the Egyptian born artist promises a celebration of Egypt as 'pure adoration to the timeless, eternal Egypt, which does not die.' Hafiz's work searches for a unified Egyptian identity during these tumultuous times. In this collection, he aims to capture the personification of Egypt and to secure its place as Om El Donia – Mother of the world, cradle of civilization. To create this image, he draws upon a wide range of mediums and colour palettes that reflect the multi-faceted Egypt which has spanned civilisations. In a single piece, Hafiz places together a Pharaoh, a 50s celebrity and a mother figure, all of which combine to give an overview of his country and ultimately produce a strong, uplifting image. The main subject in almost all of the pieces was a woman, or more often women, smiling knowingly at one another, while objects thate are representative of Egypt are cradled in their hands – a mosque, a bool or a relic of Downtown's architecture, for example. These characters give an impression of Egypt as a motherly sustainer which is withstanding. Meanwhile, hidden about the canvas, eagle-eyed viewers will notice small black and white photographs, seemingly newspaper clippings, which predominantly depict a male face.  The contrast between these two mediums and the characters they display is very powerful, as in contrast to the giant bright smiling women, these photographs show an individual alone and contained, seemingly frozen in a time gone by. The suggestion here is that these cultural icons, as symbols of modernity, are quickly faded and relegated to a fixed time. In 'Egyptian Romance', one woman wears a string of these photographs as a necklace, suggesting that such images are fashionably attractive, but are only ever a token garnish on a timeless body. The pieces are set apart from time, choosing not to focus on the chaotic Egypt of today, but instead presenting a montage of sand and river imagery which present an 'eternal Egypt' which refuses to be defined by the cityscapes it can be recognised for today. Situated in the center of Zamalek's buzz, Hafiz's collection provides a healthy reminder that Egypt goes further than Cairo's boundaries. The mediums used in the collection make it a very rich visual experience as the artist works experimentally with a range of tactile materials, including clumped oil paint, paper and sand-based cement which forms a vivid reminder of Egypt's desert landscape. Water, specifically the Nile, is also an important motif in the collection, and through these elemental depictions of Egypt, the viewer is invited to see the bare bones of this country – as it has geographically stood for millennia, 'immortal'. The exhibition presents a devotional collection of pieces which provokes a timely re-examination of the country's identity, particularly for those caught up in Egypt's newly born cityscapes.

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Born in 1931, Omar El Nagdi is one of the most well-known Egyptian artists of our time. Defined as an artist, philosopher, musician and even director, El Nagdi has exhibited in several countries around the world and obtained numerous awards, including the Alexandria Biennale, which he has won on three different occasions. Currently exhibiting at Al Masar Gallery in Zamalek, 'Impulsive Expressionism II' is the perfect collection to get to know the artist. The high ceilinged gallery is a good fit for El Nagdi's poised pieces. Filling every turn and corner, the collection has work that dates as far back as 1960, leading up to 2013. There is no chronological order to the paintings; rather, the old and the new are set to be juxtaposed in varying degrees for comparison. An example of this is 'Standing Figures' (2008), which is far more abstract than his later work – which usually utilises a strong use of lines and gold leaf in their palette – and instead has blurred subjects and uses primary colours. This piece hangs next to 'Compositions I' and 'Abstract Family', and while they look like they are part of the same collection, the latter two were in fact painted this year. 'The Harem' (2012) and 'The Knight & the Bride' (2010) are typical of the aforementioned style that predominantly uses gold leaf, but the most exquisite example of this is offered in 'Chess' (2013). The scene shows women standing, one is leaning out of a window with a bird in her hand; the cleanliness of lines, the intricate detailing in the border of the window and the stark black and white tiled flooring, are all mesmerising. The almost 3D quality to it is simply stunning. 2011 pieces 'Nubian Boy', 'Al Fallaha' and 'A Pharaoh' reflect the sculptor in El Nagdi; they are created in relief, on wood, and have what seems like gravel and sand on their surfaces. Rawer in the use colours, as well as in the subjects themselves, it's difficult not to reach out and touch the textured surface. Towards the back of the gallery, a different side of his abilities and tastes are in evidence. Work from 2009 is much simpler and the canvas is left emptier than in other pieces. 'El Fanous I' is essentially a watercolour sketch, significantly smaller in size, yet equally engaging. One consistent element, however, is El Nagdi's uses of Egyptian culture in his art; the imagery is very traditional and relatable, though whimsical at the same time. While the essence is consistent throughout his work, and within this collection, there are also variables and tangents that are immediately noticeable. But whether through the use of either watercolour or mixed media, working on wood or linen, using a regal gold or preferring soothing earth colours; his manipulation of tools is a sight to marvel. 'Impulsive Expressionism II' doesn't offer anything new; the artist has not diverted greatly from work produced in 2009 for example. However, the collection goes far back enough to allow us to see his progression in retrospect. One thing is certain, though; regardless of the size of the painting, the subject, or the technique, the invitation to absorb the details of every piece is undeniable.  

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