Art

Game changing sounds from the alternative scene

Arabian Knights performs to an eclectic crowd at the Swiss Club in Cairo.
28 Dec 2012
There is something to be said for the solace and inspiration found within Egypt’s evolving musical landscape over the past year. It may not be for everyone; it is certainly not for those who seek pristine sounds from the West. Yet...
Yes

Al-Warsha's revolution testimonies invite us to reflect

26 Dec 2012
“Don’t believe everything you hear, even what I am telling you,” one of the narrators says. It is a classic storyteller move — reminding the listener to always doubt a little. This is after all a story told only...
Yes

Entering a Grimm-like tale

  The frames Noura Seif exhibits at PhotoCairo 5 are similar to illustrations in a youngsters’ comic book or an animated horror film.
25 Dec 2012
Childish fear was the emotion that artist Noura Seif sought to evoke with “Boody,” a collection of drawings and sculptures installed in the back room of the Contemporary Image Collective’s exhibition space as part of...
Yes

Cairo's new dubplate cutting studio to be part of a live performance Saturday

Photo courtesy of Hari Shankar Kishore
22 Dec 2012
To make a vinyl record, grooves are cut into the lacquer on an aluminum disc. This “dubplate” is used to create a stamper from which records are mass-produced, but can also be played a limited number of times itself. In the new...
Yes

A thousand buzzwords

Courtesy of the artist
20 Dec 2012
“We believe that it should be the PEOPLE who decide, the people who transformed Egypt through occupying Tahrir should now liberate the midan and permanently claim it as their own [...] If we can talk...
Yes

Political Veggies: An artistic restaurant triggers conversations

19 Dec 2012
For most of us living in Cairo, it’s often difficult to imagine what our neighborhoods might have looked like in the past. Until the mid-19th century, downtown Cairo was covered with swamps; a few decades down the line, what is now...
Yes

Daily notes of nonexistence: Constructing a communal history through a personal archive

18 Dec 2012
“He swore it all took place under a giant glass dome,” reads a sentence printed in silver below a photograph of two cable cars, reminiscent of 1970s space fantasies. The humorous image is one of 20 framed photographs that lined...
Yes

Hanaa Safwat's small pencil drawings hold their own in PhotoCairo 5

The invasive surgery artist Hanaa Safwat's father underwent brings to mind the deliberate violence with which the regime dealt with dissenters, yet isn’t connected to that at all.
16 Dec 2012
Among the photographs, videos and text pieces that make up the bulk of work in PhotoCairo 5 are six small pencil drawings hanging in a row. Each is a depiction of the same man’s face; and looking straight on, he gazes levelly at the...
Yes

Bands to watch: Maii Waleed introduces Arabic dream pop

Maii Waleed’s melodic sensibility, her careful choice of lyrics and musical beats are quite a rarity among female Egyptian singers.
11 Dec 2012
    It’s easy for underground musicians to feel misunderstood in Egypt — and especially so if you’re a female, ex-heavy metal drummer who is dedicated to creating a unique hybrid of Arabic, indie pop-rock music...
Yes

An epic mystery, with clues: Navigating Hassan Khan’s survey at SALT

10 Dec 2012
ISTANBUL — Artist, musician and writer Hassan Khan’s selected survey exhibition at SALT is like a mystery scattered with various cryptic clues. It feels like a frustrating but at times very intriguing epic mystery written by...
Yes

Our Recommendations