Open Call – This is Not A Landscape: The Open Studio

Open Call – This is Not A Landscape: The Open Studio

This is Not A Landscape (2018 – ) is an ongoing artistic project initiated by artist Azza Ezzat in collaboration with Ismail Fayed, in an attempt to understand the urban acceleration of Cairo with the massive expansion of existing road systems in heavily populated residential areas. The impact of expanding existing road systems and the transformation of inner-city road networks into a quasi-highway style road network had a tremendous impact on urban flow and traffic in primarily residential areas. The re-routing of most street flows in residential districts, has caused overextended detours and labyrinth-like traffic flows that always existed in the modern city, but now is expanded to a scale that is truly vertiginous.

In this iteration of the project Azza and Ismail invite other artists and practitioners in an open studio setting, in partnership with Medrar, to think about the ways in which this urban experience can be understood but also processed visually and artistically through different practices and mediums. Through a collaborative process of sharing practice and experience Azza together with invited artists and collaborators will engage in three intensive, day long sessions tackling themes of: human and non-human experience in the urban environment, everyday experiences of the web interactions that take place in the urban surroundings (with structural and non-structural elements) and the spatial strategies that are used to navigate this urban space and reality.

Each session will be followed by an open studio where artists and participants will share with the public a moment of reflection and experimentation. 

The workshop is free and It is self funded, so each artist should provide his own materials. 

Medrar will contribute with some available utilities such as (sound equipment, projector, …etc.)

Deadline: Sunday, 23rd of March, 2025

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The open studio “This is Not a Landscape” kicked off with the participants. The first session moderated by Helena Abdelnasser, A workshop on biodegradable materials and their possible contextual implications and considers the presence of non-human elements and their role in shaping public space, focusing on processes of adaptation, disruption, and reconfiguration within the urban landscape.

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Participants of the Open Studio Programe showcased their first experiences with the public after the first sessions of the program were completed by Helena Abdelnasser.

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Snippets from the second session of “This is Not a Landscape”, facilitated by Eslam Ali at ADEF, the session focused on the use of 3D printing and digital fabrication techniques and how to utilize these techniques and integrate them with elements of the built environment and their impact on daily life within the city and how do these structural elements contribute to shaping the urban reality in Cairo.

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“This is Not a Landscape: Second open studio” on Tuesday, 6th of May 2025, from 6 – 9 PM.

Participants of the Open Studio Programe showcased their experiments with the public after the second session of the program was completed by Eslam Ali.