Urgent Thoughts

We announce «Urgent Thoughts», a series of ongoing meetings organised in collaboration with ASCII program, scheduled to take place every other Saturday starting in July 2025. The program offers a space for the presentation and simplified exploration of a theoretical idea that may hold significance for its connection to the creative practices of young artists in Egypt today.

The series focuses on raising questions and fostering collective discussions around concepts that probe the relationship between knowledge and practice. It examines connections that might expand both artistic and learning experiences. Urgent Thoughts also offers brief introductions to experimental strategies for learning beyond the framework of the school or teacher, while reflecting on the foundations of a cultural structure that supports the artist as an active and influential figure in contemporary society

---

We announce the first session of “Urgent Thoughts” titled “Statement in Drawing”

This session invites reflection on drawing as a medium traditionally associated with documentation processes, its historical connection to scientific research, intellectual inquiry, and the presentation of knowledge in its various forms. It also explores drawing’s role as a key inspiration for the imagination of the contemporary creator.

---

“The second presentation, titled The Making of the Image: Between the Apparent and the Phenomenon, unfolds a profound meditation on the philosophical ideas that dwell in what appears on the surface of the image, and in all that lies hidden beneath, the sensory, intellectual, and cognitive energies that converge to render the image an extraordinary phenomenon in the depths of human consciousness.”

---

“Void” is the theme of the third session in the “Urgent Thoughts” series, organized in collaboration between Medrar for Contemporary Art and the ASCII Program in Cairo, Egypt.

The Urgent Thoughts series explores critical questions surrounding the nature of creative practices, while presenting theoretical perspectives on the relationship between knowledge, artistic practice, and analytical thinking—particularly within the realm of visual arts.

This third session delves into the concept of Void as a lens through which to examine the relationship between knowledge and creative awareness. It addresses the various states of the image، its ِِapearence, its presence, and its virtual perception—and how these states interconnect and resonate within human consciousness as a phenomenon worthy of deep analysis and reflection.

The meeting specifically focuses on the notions of installation in space and contemporary interpretations of the shifting dynamics between space, place, and emptiness in contemporary art.

---

“Virtual” is the theme of the fourth meeting in the “Urgent Thoughts” series, presented by the artist and academic professor Shady El Noshokaty in collaboration between Medrar for Contemporary Art and the ASCII Program in Cairo.

“Urgent Thoughts” is an ongoing series of theoretical presentations and discussions that explores questions surrounding the nature of creative practices, as well as the relationship between knowledge and the making of the creative arts, particularly within the visual arts.

It continues with the fourth meeting, focusing on exploring the notion of the “Virtual” and its role in achieving an “immersive” experience in today’s technological arts.

The participating artists in the presentation:

Ahmed El Shaer

Samia Dawood

Mohamed El Maghraby

Rodeina Fouad

Join us on Saturday, August 23, 2025, from 7 to 9 pm.

Limited capacity. Entry on a first-come, first-served basis.

The presentation will be held in Arabic.