The Creativity Front has released a statement detailing their meeting with Sawy Culturewheel founder and politician Mohamed El-Sawy. The front called for a protest and a boycott of the Culturewheel after certain caricatures were not shown as part of a scheduled caricature exhibition.
The Front accused the Culturewheel of removing and tearing the cartoons because they were critical of the Muslim Brotherhood.
El-Sawy has previously been the recipient of criticism for representing Egyptian churches in the Constituent Assembly, despite their withdrawal and without their approval, a move that was seen by many opposition figures to be a clear nod to the Muslim Brotherhood.
The front warned of El-Sawy becoming a cultural censor for the Muslim Brotherhood and accused him of trying to gain favours with the government, implying that he had done it before to gain access to public property: the Culturewheel’s location in Zamalek.
In their statement, the front reported that El-Sawy insisted on apologising to the artist himself and said that the error had been the result of an employee and would not happen again.
The Culturewheel began its three day public exhibition of the works Monday and said it would be releasing a statement of explanation to the public.
Previously, the Creativity Front had called for a boycott of the Culturewheel and a protest, scheduled for Tuesday at 7pm in front of the Zamalek location.
The Egyptian Association of Caricatures has endorsed El-Sawy’s decision and spoke of the Culturewheel’s importance in Egyptian cultural life, while the Sawy Culturewheel commended what it called the Creativity Front’s zealous defence of freedom of expression.
