By Hadeel Hegazy
The Workshops, as its name indicates, is a cultural platform that creates and hosts workshops and events under their slogan “Pursue your Passion”, as described on their official website. Owner and CEO Rasha Abu El-Seoud, the daughter of popular composer and musician Hassan Abu El-Seoud, founded the initiative one year ago. “She loves giving people who have passion for an art form the chance and the best environment to study and work on it,” Sara Fawzy, the administration and events manger, said. “We provide this through both the workshops and events we organise.”
The large variety of workshops that are offered range from musical instruments, like the traditional Oud and Ney, to interior and fashion design and everything in between. This week, two new courses will start in both fine arts and music. Oil painting through the History of Art starts on 5 October and is open to everyone who possesses basic drawing skills. In eight sessions, the participants will receive an introduction to oil painting techniques used throughout the history of art and will learn techniques from different art schools, like cubism and impressionism. The idea behind the course is that by adding different skills to their arsenal, participants will be better able to discover their own style.
Instructor Belal Mohsen heads the Violin Workshop, which starts on 7 October and will run for two months. The participants will not only learn how to play the musical instrument but also how to read musical notation.
The fashion design workshop runs over three months and is given by designer Lamia El-Beheiry, a fine arts graduate who has her own atelier. The course is designed with three phases: drawing and creating different designs, designing the printed textiles and designing the fashion itself.
But not all courses deal with traditional forms of art; one of the courses this fall teaches the participants how to become TV presenters. Vivian Magdy heads this two-month workshop, where participants are taught how to properly have a dialogue on TV, deal with a microphone and an audience, and compose reports. and enhance their painting skills through imprinting and copying Famous works of varies Artists and art schools (Cubism – surrealism – impressionism …) who left a mark in the modern history of art , In an attempt to introduce new creative styles and techniques to students away from the stereotypes of academic and classic paintingand enhance their painting skills through imprinting and copying Famous works of varies Artists and art schools (Cubism – surrealism – impressionism …) who left a mark in the modern history of art , In an attempt to introduce new creative styles and techniques to students away from the stereotypes of academic and classic painting
“Some workshops [have long waiting lists], like the one for Arabic calligraphy, as the instructor Hatem Arafa also gives the workshop in other cities like Alexandria, Mansoura and Assuit,” Fawzy said. “People currently register for the music workshops, and in the winter, the drawing and literary workshops are the [most popular].”
Fawzy emphasised the importance of creating the best environment for people who want to learn something new. “Essential [aspects of] our workshops is having them be as practical and applied as possible. We also don’t merely give classes to people, where they need to memorise [the material] in order to pass an exam, they should also be entertained during the learning process.”
The Workshops also host a variety of events, from poetry nights and book signing events to movie nights. “The first Thursday of every month, we organise a Om Koulthom Night with a discussion afterwards,” Fawzy said, “And every Thursday is movie night.” The Al-Aada evening is held on the 10th of every month. “The Al-Aada event is for people who want to present their talents in reading poetry or a short story, play music or sing.” Anyone interested in showcasing his or her talents can contact the organisation to book a place.
The headquarters of the Workshops is in Maadi, where all the workshops and event are held, but the rest of Cairo is not forgotten. Fawzy said: “We rent venues in other places for people to whom Maadi is inaccessible, like Al-Maqar in Heliopolis.” The organisation is currently preparing to open a new venue in El-Sheikh Zayed.
