Culture Events: Picks for the Weekend

Ahram Online, Saturday 6 Apr 2013

Ahram Online's cultural picks for this weekend include Egypt's National Theatre Festival, 'Alternative Solution,' Di-Egy Fest 0.1, the D-CAF festival and El-Fan Midan – among several others

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Sherin Hegazy's performance, part of 'Alternative Solution' festival (Photo: Courtesy of Hal Badeel team)

Thursday, 4 April

'Macbeth' at Metropol Theatre at 1pm

The theatre play 'Macbeth' is a production of the General Authority of Cultural Palaces and is directed by Mohamed Ali. The performance is part of the 6th edition of the Egyptian National Theatre Festival, taking place between 27 March and 10 April.

26th of July Street (close to Opera Square), Downtown, Cairo

Contemporary classical music at Alexandria Atelier at 6:30pm

The two concerts are performed by the Egyptian Contemporary Classical Music Outreach Program (ECCMOP) in Cairo and in Alexandria. The second concert takes place in Alexandria on Thursday. It will feature world and Egypt premiere of works by Egyptian composers written for the ECCMOP ensemble. Discussion sessions will be held before the concerts at 6:30pm. Concert follows at 7:30pm.

Alexandria Atelier, Victor Bassili Street, Al-Azarita, Alexandria

Salah Marei exhibition at AUC

As part of a two-week commemoration of well-known Egyptian cinematic art director Salah Marei, the American University in Cairo (AUC) hosts an exhibition dedicated to the artist who passed away in March 2011. The exhibition runs until 10 April.

Sharjah Art Gallery, AUC, New Cairo Campus. Read more here

Downtown Contemporary Arts Festival (D-CAF) across Cairo Downtown

The multi-disciplinary festival brings theatre performances, music, film, digital visual art and workshops to Cairo between 4 and 28 April. Check the programme for more details here

 

Friday, 5 April

Performances about Revolution at the Factory Space at 8pm

Be Basata Keda ('Simply Like This') is a performance of stories about the revolution by the Ana El-Hekaya Group. The event is part of the Alternative Solution Festival for Arts taking place in Downtown Cairo, until 17 April.

The Factory Space, Townhouse Gallery, 6 Hussein Al-Memary, from Mahmoud Bassiouny, Downtown, Cairo.

Aya at 100 Copies Music Space at 8pm

A concert by a young singer named Aya. She began her carrier by singing covers to the accompaniment of her guitar or piano before she started trying original song songs in Arabic. Today, Aya composes music to lyrics written by her friends. Her performance is based on vocals ad acoustic guitar.

22 Talaat Harb Street, Downtown, Cairo

'Women and Horses' at Picasso Art Gallery

An opening ceremony of an exhibition entitled 'Women and Horses,' showcasing artwork by Helmi El Toumi. The exhibition opened on 29 March and will run until 12 April. Open daily between 10:30am and 9pm (except Sundays).

30 Hassan Assem, off Brazil Street, Zamalek, Cairo

Downtown Contemporary Arts Festival (D-CAF) across Cairo Downtown

The multi-disciplinary festival brings theatre performances, music, film, digital visual art and workshops to Cairo between 4 and 28 April. Check the programme for more details here 

 

Saturday, 6 April

El-Fan Midan across several cities

Monthly street festival El-Fan Midan will celebrate its second anniversary, showcasing artwork and film in Cairo and nine other Egyptian cities.

The two-year celebration will feature performances by a large collection of artists, including a performance by popular emerging artist Dina El-Wadidi, well-known for her collaborative song Nehlam ('We Dream') with Tunisian artists, produced as a reaction to the consecutive revolutions in both Egypt and Tunisia. Read more about El-Fan Midan here.

Abdeen Square, Downtown, Cairo

'The Underground is Still Alive' concert at Darb 1718 at 6pm

Volume One of 'The Underground is Still Alive' will include performances by the following bands: Ashara Gharby, Looperia Project, Lel We 3ean, and T.K. Capoera. The evening will include Brazilian music, along with oriental tunes. The event is co-organised with the Looperia Project.

Darb 1718 Contemporary Art and Culture Centre, Qasr Al-Shamaa Street, Al-Fakhareen, Old Cairo, behind the Hanging Church and the Amr Mosque

Sahara Band at El-Sawy Culturewheel at 8pm

The Sahara Band performs Raï music, believing that this genre is 'close to Egyptians' hearts.' However, the band adds its own unique touch.  

Wisdom Hall, 26 July Street, under the 15 May Bridge, Zamalek, Cairo

Symphonic concert at the Cairo Opera House at 8pm

The Cairo Symphony Orchestra conducted by Benoit Willmann will perform works by Elgar, Brahms and Honegger. The soloist of the evening is Abdel Hamid El-Showiekh on violin and Francois Guye on cello.

Cairo Opera House, main hall, Zamalek

Di-Egy Fest 0.1 Exhibition in two locations in Cairo

'Behind the Image and Beyond' is part of Di-Egy Fest 01, the first digital art festival in Egypt. It will take place between 27 March and 10 April, across several venues in Cairo. Read more about the exhibition and festival here.

The British Council, Agouza

Fine arts sector of the Gezira Arts Centre, Zamalek, Cairo

Downtown Contemporary Arts Festival (D-CAF) across Cairo Downtown

The multi-disciplinary festival brings theatre performances, music, film, digital visual art and workshops to Cairo between 4 and 28 April. Check the programme for more details here

 

Sunday, 7 April

'Isis, Mon Amour' at Hanager Arts Centre at 8pm

Written and directed by Mohamed Abul Su'ood, 'Isis, Mon Amour' is a theatre play, which, according to theatre critic Nihad Selaiha, "took almost two years to research, write, design and rehearse."

Abul Su'ood started writing this piece in the wake of January Revolution and "had meant it as a celebration of the new dawn of freedom." As the days passed, the director realised that "rather than celebrating a 'coming forth by day' from darkness into light, the work metamorphosed into a mournful, elegiac love song for Isis, a betrayed, lost motherland."

The performance is part of the 6th edition of the Egyptian National Theatre Festival, taking place between 27 March and 10 April.

Hanager Arts Centre, located on the Cairo Opera Grounds, Zamalek

'My Nineties' at the Townhouse Gallery

This multidisciplinary project initiated by visual artist Mohamed Allam brings together various artists to present several years of research and more than 4000 VHS tapes of footage of Egyptian media and television from the 1990s. The exhibition runs until 17 April.

10 Nabrawy Street, off Champollion Street, Downtown, Cairo

'On My Forest Land' exhibition by Hala Abu Shady at the Mashrabiya Gallery 

In 'On My Forest Land,' visual artist Hala Abu Shady tackles issues of heritage and identity across Mediterranean societies.

Intrigued by symbols and images of Egyptian society and using photographs of herself, along with pictures from Facebook and Twitter, the artist produced a show of photomontages and sound art that aims to capture the change and multiculturalism that characterises contemporary society. The exhibition will run until 11 April.

8 Champollion Street, Downtown, Cairo

Downtown Contemporary Arts Festival (D-CAF) across Cairo Downtown

The multi-disciplinary festival brings theatre performances, music, film, digital visual art and workshops to Cairo between 4 and 28 April. Check the programme for more details here 

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