Through the brick alleys of Al Mu’izz Street, the beautiful architecture of Fatimid Cairo, and the simple small similar shops of handicrafts dominating the scene, visitors immerse into a journey through time. Within the captivating timeworn buildings of Al Mu’izz Street 28, contemporary artists gathered to redefine the aspects of the hoary beauty that still captivates hearts, in their latest exhibition “Reimagined Narratives”.
The exhibition is the third edition of Art D’Égypte’s series of cultural art exhibitions, taking place at four ancient buildings inside Al Mu’izz Street, highlighting the Islamic Cairo’s UNESCO world heritage site.
The third edition of the exhibition will take place at Bayt Al Suhaymi, Qalawun Complex, Moheb Al-Din Abul-Tayyeb Hall, and Maq’ad Mamay Al-Sayfi building where the 28 artists will present their inspiration of re-imagining the narratives of the past.
The exhibition mixes between contemporary art and the Egyptian heritage bringing a creative blend of the reintroduced artwork that blends modernism with authenticity together. For three weeks starting from 26 October, Al Mu’izz Street’s four buildings will be opened to the public to explore, with the availability of a mobile application that facilitates the tour by defining the buildings’ places, and the number of artworks showcased.
“Every year, we set the bar too high. Going for Al Mu’izz Street was crazy, but after the first two editions which took place at the Egyptian Museum, and Al-Manial palace, and with the strong convection of the team, we managed to make it come true,” Nadine Abdel Ghaffar, the curator of Art D’Égypte told Daily News Egypt.
For months, the 28 artists roamed in the place, heard and read about its history, the tales verbally inherited by its inhabitants, and the myths believed to lie among some of its abandoned aged buildings, in order to come up with their perspectives of how these tales reshape the current art scene of the Street.
The 28 Egyptian contemporary artists showcasing their work this year are Ahmed Askalany, Ahmed El Shaer, Ahmed Farid, Ahmed Karaly, Ahmed Keshta, Amir Youssef, Diaa El-Din Daoud, Farida El Gazzar, Fathi Hassan, Ghada Amer, Hany Rashed, Heba Y. Amin, Huda Lutfi, Ibrahim Ahmed, Ibrahim El Dessouki, Ibrahim Khatab, Islam Shabana, Karim El Hayawan, Marianne Fahmy, Marwan Elgamal, Medhat Shafik, Moaaz El Dmasy, Mohamed Monaiseer, Mohamed Shoukry, Mohamed Banawy, Sherin Guirguis, Tarek Naga, and Yasmine El Meleegy.
Art D’Égypte offers this year a cultural awareness programme to the residents of Al Mu’izz Street, whom according to Abdel Ghaffar, stayed the longest to in the streets from 1500 years, to educate them about the value of their heritage and ways to safeguard it.
“These young people lived all of their lives among this beauty, that they were no longer aware of its importance. We worked with these people to give some values of cultural heritage, and arts,” she said.
The cultural awareness programme is divided into two sections: The Theatre of Cultural Values, and The Heritage Guardians. The former is several theatre performances which focus on conveying the values of art and creativity, while the latter is a series of workshops conducted by specialists in the fields of contemporary art, heritage awareness and archaeology for students of the neighbourhood.
