The fourth edition of Cairo Photo Week, organised by Photopia, will take place across 14 locations in Downtown Cairo from 8-18 May.
Held under the slogan “Scene Detection”, the event is under the auspices of the Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities, the Tourism Promotion Authority, and the Ministry of Culture. EgyptAir serves as the official carrier, with partners including Ismailia Real Estate Investment and gold sponsor Cairo Design District (CDD).
Cairo Photo Week will feature over 20 individual and collective exhibitions showcasing professional local and international photographers, audio-visual artists, and film producers. Leading international photography institutions, including World Press Photo, Vogue, National Geographic, and Getty Images, will also participate.
The programme includes over 100 talks, workshops, and live demonstrations featuring experts and artists from Egypt, the Netherlands, Denmark, France, Spain, Italy, the United Kingdom, Norway, Switzerland, Tunisia, Lebanon, Morocco, Algeria, and Palestine. This involves collaboration with several embassies – Dutch, Italian, Spanish, French, Swiss, Danish – as well as the British Council and the European Union National Institutes for Culture (EUNIC).
Marwa Abu Leila, Photopia’s founder and executive director, stated, “Cairo Photo Week celebrates artists who are capable of capturing ideas and touching moments through their lenses. We have selected this year’s theme: ‘Finding the View’. Through works and discussion sessions with experts and specialists, we focus on highlighting near-term prospects for photography professions which are based on the thoughts and visions of innovators in the age of AI and its challenges, including decreased demand for photographers’ works and local and international economic slowdown.”
Abu Leila added, “What distinguishes Cairo Photo Week is that it targets general audiences and grants them opportunities to meet Egyptian, African, Middle Eastern, and international photographers. It also creates a state of cultural interaction which is reflected in artistic production of professionals and emerging image makers”.
She noted that the fourth edition’s programme covers a wide range of photography genres, including documentary, photojournalism, cinematography, fashion, food, contemporary art, digital media, non-fungible tokens (NFTs), and art direction, along with experimental practices. In addition to exhibitions, the schedule features lectures, educational programmes for experts and emerging artists, discussion sessions, photography tours, short film screenings, and still photo shows.
Participants listed for Cairo Photo Week include cinematographer Abd El-Salam Mousa, Ahmed Hayman, Ayman Abbas, Batoul Al-Dawy, Aisha Al-Shabrawy, Muhammad Bakr, Adel Mubarez, German Vincent Vande, Peter Menzel, the late Armenian photographer Van Leo, Yasser Onwan, Kariman Al-Haywan, and Nermine Hammam.
For the first time, the event will include a specialised market for photography services, offering studio rentals, photo printing, camera and lens maintenance, and the purchase of photography equipment and cameras, potentially through interest-free instalments provided by ValU.
Previous editions of Cairo Photo Week have attracted significant attendance, reportedly hosting over 35,000 visitors and 4,500 educational participants last year. Entry to exhibitions is typically free, with nominal fees for lectures and discussions.
The exhibitions and events will be held in multiple Downtown Cairo venues, including Cinema Radio, Kodak Passageway, the Consulate building, Hangar, Garage, Factory, Mashrabia Gallery, El-Shorbagy Gallery, the French Cultural Centre, Access Art Space, and the American University in Cairo.
A specific event related to Cairo Photo Week is scheduled to take place at the Cairo Design District (CDD) at One Ninety by LMD in the Fifth Settlement on Monday, 5 May 2025.
