Deadline Extended: Sunday, 31 May, 2026

Application Form link: https://forms.gle/NttSwrU3SLJD4hmx5

FAQ and application guide link: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1ZwxVz_EcrEJwrYPiIMEWh53JUDCtJLh1/view?usp=drive_link

Cache: Narrations of Times and Territories is a six-month program under MedRX Portal, supporting individual practitioners and contributing to the development of artistic research, immersive practices, and new media production.

Launching in June 2026, Cache brings together a Research Lab and a Production Lab running in parallel, each supporting a cohort of 5–8 participants across artistic research, production, dialogue, and shared learning.

Throughout the program, participants receive mentorship and guidance, a participation fee, access to studio space and shared working facilities, technical support and consultation, access to equipment and production resources, workshops, reading sessions, collective discussions, and opportunities for exchange.

The program concludes with an exhibition and publication featuring the works and research developed throughout its duration, alongside public and semi-public presentations and activities across the program.

Conceptual Framework

“Cache” is approached as a metaphor drawn from temporary data storage files that function as memory expected to disappear, be deleted, or overlooked, yet remain partially retained as residue.

The theme is an invitation to think through cache as a carrier of histories, failures, and unrealized possibilities. It may appear as chemical residue, ruins, unformulated citations, lost data, dysfunctional systems, and bodily traces; material and immaterial traces of erasure, transformation, and persistence.

Taking “cache” as both a technological and epistemological condition, the program questions the assumption that new media is weightless, existing only at the interface, the screen, and the seamless experience. It approaches technology as something that shapes our experience while also being shaped by it, while accounting for time, knowledge, and the social and material conditions integral to how we think about contemporary media.

The program falls under Medrar’s MedRX Portal, focusing on practices working across new media and technologically mediated forms, including XR and immersive technologies to develop local knowledge in the field. It strives to bridge the gap between alternative artistic research and production. These components are linked to build a sustainable ecosystem of digital art production and technologies.

“Cache” proposes a set of thematic directions that offer different entry points for applicants to develop their projects. These include:

Conditions of Residue — How can we read the traces left by media, technologies, and different systems as an entry point to understanding their transformations and the marks of their use? What remains after breakdown, interruption, or accumulation? And how can incomplete files, digital and physical traces, and abandoned or dysfunctional structures become material for artistic and research practice?

Knowledge Assembly — How is knowledge formed through fragments, references, incomplete records, and dispersed materials? How can tools, media, and technologies be understood through their artistic, social, and cultural traces? And in what ways can research, writing, image-making, and artistic practice become methods for producing and sharing knowledge?

Speculative Temporalities — How do different temporalities intersect across media, systems, and images? How can working across past, present, and future open space for other narratives and new possibilities around times and territories? This direction looks at our relationship to tools and media, and the residues, files, and memories they leave behind, as points of departure for thinking through time, its experience, and its transformations.

Ideology of the Medium — How can technology be approached beyond its understanding as a means of production, entertainment, or simply a technical tool? How might it be understood as technique and craft carrying material, historical, cultural, and political dimensions? This direction raises questions around use, function, and what technology can make possible when it is used or re-read beyond dominant aesthetic models.

Program Structure

The Research Lab and the Production Lab run in parallel, each with its own track and group of participants, while intersecting at different moments throughout the program through selected sessions, gatherings, and public activities.

Research Lab

The Research Lab is not a conventional classroom setting, but an interactive six-month space that intersects at different moments with the Production Lab. It brings together reading, writing, individual research, collective discussions, field visits, reflection, experimentation.

Who can apply to the research lab?

– Researchers, writers, artists, curators, and cultural practitioners whose work intersects with contemporary art, visual culture, digital and immersive media, and technology.

– Interdisciplinary artistic and research-based practices, especially projects grounded in research, writing, image-making, moving image, digital media, or artistic practices engaged with knowledge production.

– Applicants whose projects engage with questions related to media, technology, memory, archives, image-making, or the material and cultural conditions of tools and media.

Expected outcomes: The Research Lab aims to develop initial ideas into research-based artistic or research outcomes, including texts, research projects, experimental formats, and collective contributions across publications, the public program, or the final exhibition.

Production Lab

The Production Lab departs from the “Cache” as a concept for thinking across intersections of memory, time, temporality, and technology, and how a digital technological concept can operate as a methodology for research through workshops, collective readings, and visits with artists and practitioners.

Who can apply to the Production Lab?

– Artists and practitioners working across new media, experimental, and interdisciplinary artistic practices.

– The lab expects applicants’ proposals and/or previous works to demonstrate an engagement with technology as a production tool or a research subject.

– Prior technical expertise or advanced knowledge of programming languages is not required.

Expected outcomes: The Production Lab aims to develop artistic works and experimental practices engaging with Generative & Interactive systems, Virtual and Augmented Reality (VR & AR), Hyper Mediums, and practices working across sound, image, space, and immersive environments (Immersive Environments).

Curatorial Team: Raneem Elhaddad, Shorouk El Hariry, Mohamed Abdelkarim

Guests and Contributors:

Dina Jereidini (multidisciplinary artist), Rania Lee Khalil (artist) Shehab Ismail (historian), Mostafa Elbaroody (artist and architect), Mena El Shazly (visual artist), Mohammed Ezzeldin (historian).

Afrotecha.urban: afrotecha.urban is an applied research project at the African Centre for Cities, University of Cape Town. Our transdisciplinary team investigates multiple curiosities of how youth are using technologies in African cities to live, work, play, make, organise, and connect. These curiosities have been applied through collaboratively curated, youth-run, ‘labs-not-labs’* in Cape Town, Durban, Nairobi and Cairo. Each ‘not-lab’ takes on a situated life, exploring key themes in context co-produced with embedded collectives and harnessing what we call amoebic thinking.

afrotecha.cairo foregrounds how Cairo’s youth as early career and emerging artists, tap into residues as entry points, tracing the histories of technology and charting speculative futures in flux. Through the tools of new media and contemporary arts, we surface alternative knowledge on urban materialities between the human and non-human. In the lab we will speculate what occurs through the residual leftover, seen as aftermath interactions with the periphery, and observe possibilities of emergence and renewal.

https://www.africancentreforcities.net/programme/afrotecha-urban/   https://www.africancentreforcities.net/ 

Further contributors will be invited throughout the program in response to the specific needs and practices of the participants.

Eligibility

– Early-career Egyptian and Arab artists, writers, researchers, and cultural practitioners with an active independent practice (typically 2–10 years).

– Applicants must be based in Cairo during the application and program period.

– Selection is based on the proposal’s relevance to the program themes and the clarity of the applicant’s approach.

– Prior technical experience is not required, though familiarity with relevant tools, media, or methodologies is encouraged.

– Working languages: Arabic and English.

Timeline

– Application deadline: Monday, 25 May 2026, 11:59 PM Cairo time

– Interviews: first week of June 2026

– Results announcement: second week of June 2026

– Program duration: June – December 2026

– Final presentation: January – February 2027

Commitment/ requirements 

– Access to personal equipment or tools necessary for working throughout the program.

– Commitment to the full program duration and regular attendance (approx. 1–2 days weekly).

– Development of a proposed or ongoing long-term project within the program framework.

– Contribution to public activities engaging with research and practice.

– Participation in public activities and the final collective exhibition in early 2027.

Application deadline: 15 May 2026

Roznama 10 is a studio program, exhibition, and competition. Participating artists will develop works throughout the period of 6 months, which will include studio practice, workshops, reading sessions, group crits, as well as public and semi-public events. The program will conclude with a group exhibition of works by the participating artists, nominated for a range of awards, including cash prizes, art residencies, and other opportunities.

Roznama 10 positions itself as a site of interdisciplinary exchange and creative inquiry, where lived experience and situated knowledge inform artistic and research practices that critically engage the conditions under which we labor, survive, and make meaning in different fields of contemporary cultural practices.

How do we understand art? How do we function within its political economy? How can we respond from our position during moments of polycrisis? To respond to these questions, we invite participants in contemporary art fields to apply, including artists, curators, programmers, writers, editors, and anyone engaged in contemporary cultural work.

Roznama Exhibition and Competition

Since 2006, Roznama has been organized by Medrar for Contemporary Art as a competition and exhibition for contemporary visual art. The competition aims to encourage creative contemporary practices of young artists by highlighting and awarding the outstanding, genuine works, beyond their discipline or medium.

Roznama Studio Program

Medrar for Contemporary Art initiated the first edition of Roznama Studio Program in 2018, followed by a second edition in 2019. The program was conceived as a long-term, intensive format to support contemporary visual practices among emerging Egyptian artists. Grounded in a critical and theoretical framework, the program seeks to foster conditions for more sustainable artistic production within local contexts.

Who can apply?

Roznama 10 is intended for early-career artists, researchers, and cultural practitioners. “Early-career” refers to individuals who have established an independent practice and are in a phase of active development, beyond the initial stages of their careers, yet not fully established. Typically, this includes those with 2–10 years of professional experience following their artistic or academic education. This range is indicative rather than prescriptive, and age is not a determining factor.

Applications should articulate the applicant’s current stage of professional or artistic development and demonstrate why participating in the Roznama 10 – Staying with the Crisis is especially timely and relevant for their current practices.

Collectives of up to two people may apply, provided they have been working together artistically for at least three years.

The working languages of the program are Arabic and English, and applicants should be proficient in at least one of them.

Applicants must be based in Cairo at the time of application. The call is open to Egyptian and Arab nationals whose practice or research demonstrates a clear and direct engagement with the proposed theme.

Program Structure: Core Program + Parallel Tracks

The program spans six months starting in June 2026. Recognizing the importance of a space to gather all participants throughout its duration, it provides a workspace (studios) for all participants.

The program is shaped by a Core Program that engages with the conditions under which artistic practice takes place. It foregrounds the tension between art as entertainment and art as a political form, interrogating the boundaries of what counts as responsive practice and what trivializes the gravity of the present. At the same time, it positions art as a site of documentation and reflection, through which specific historical moments are registered and reworked to reframe responsibility within artistic practice. These concerns unfold alongside an attention to the affective and ethical weight of practicing under conditions of guilt, and to the question of whether artistic production should be suspended when deemed non-essential, or whether its necessity persists, if not intensifies, precisely in moments of crisis.

Responding/Practicing Within Crisis

– What does it mean to work within crisis rather than simply react to it?

– How does crisis shape methods, pace, and expectations of practice?

– Can practice exist outside the pressure to respond?

The Parallel Tracks will take the form of labs, workshops, and seminars led by invited guests. Some of these will be open calls, with the possibility for core participants to join based on their interests.

Curatorial team: Engy Mohsen and Raneem Elhaddad

Contributors include Bassam El Baroni (curator), Esraa Elfeky (artist), Huda Zikry (artist and researcher), Ismail Fayed (writer, critic, and curator), Kinda Hassan (composer and artist), Mohamed Abdelkarim (visual artist, performer, and cultural producer), Noor Abuarafeh (artist), Rana Hamadeh (visual artist), Shady El Noshokaty (visual artist, educational curator, and academic professor), Yasmine El Meleegy (multidisciplinary artist), and Youssef Ragheb (artist and educator).

Further contributors will be invited throughout the program, and additional parallel tracks will be shaped in response to the specific needs and practices of the participating artists.

Timeline

Program Timeline (June – December 2026)

Exhibition Timeline (January – February 2027)

Application process

The application will include:

1) Personal data (full name, date and place of birth, photo of ID or passport, email, phone number).

2) Brief biography specifying the applicant’s main lines of research (up to 500 characters).

3) CV (2-3 pages).

4) Project proposal, including:

• Title
• Summary of the proposal
• Motivations for joining the program
• Relationship with proposed thematic focus
• Possible ways to present the project or research publicly

5) Portfolio (up to 20 pages)

The application process includes the review of submissions by two external jury members and one member of the curatorial team, with the names of the jury to be announced alongside the results. An online Q&A session will take place on 30 April 2026.

Submission deadline and calendar

• Deadline for submission of applications: Sunday, May 15, 11:59 p.m. Cairo time
• Application form: https://forms.gle/o3rWvS8WPuSLssNf7 
• Results of the selection process: end of May 2026
• Program period: six months between June and December 2026

What does Roznama 10 offer?

• Mentorship
• Shared studio space
• Honorarium (10,000 EGP per participant)
• Peer-to-peer critique sessions
• Exchange with current and former participants
• Participation in public programs and events
• Support for local and regional networking
• A group exhibition at the end of the program
• A range of prizes: cash prizes, art residencies, and other opportunities

Commitments of Selected Participants

– To commit to the full duration of the program (June–December 2026), including approximately 1-2 days per week of planned commitments such as events, group critiques, and presentations, as well as the regular use of the studio space.
–  To develop a new or ongoing long-term project within the framework of the program.
– To propose and contribute to public formats that engage with their research and practice (workshops, film screenings, talks, or similar formats).
– To participate in an open studio and the final group exhibition, scheduled for early 2027.

Note on the use of AI:

While applicants may use AI tools for support, all submitted materials must reflect the applicant’s own ideas, voice, and critical engagement with the proposed theme. Submissions that do not clearly demonstrate original thought and authorship will not be considered.

Applications are accepted in English or Arabic (including dialects). Applicants are encouraged to write in the language and style that best reflects how they think and express themselves, as clarity of thought and authenticity of voice are central to the evaluation process.

Data Protection

Personal data submitted as part of this application will be processed by Medrar for Contemporary Art to manage participation in Roznama 10. Applicants have the right to access, correct, or delete their data, as well as to exercise other rights in accordance with applicable data protection regulations. Contact information will be retained for communication purposes related to the program.

About the Role

Medrar for Contemporary Art is seeking a Media Lab Coordinator to join its team. The Media Lab is the operational hub for all of Medrar’s activities, ranging from technical setups for workshops and exhibitions to managing databases and digital resources. The coordinator will be responsible for maintaining the lab’s equipment and database, while also assisting and implementing innovative strategies to support Medrar’s ongoing programs and activities.

Who are we looking for?

Above all, we’re looking for a generalist: someone adaptable, curious, and eager to learn. If you recognize some of your strengths in this description, we encourage you to apply, even if you don’t have experience in every area.

Job Type: Full Time

Application Deadline:December 30th, 2025

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Qualifications:

Familiarity with a multitude of audiovisual softwares and adaptability to utilize them for various use cases.

• Willingness and interest in utilizing open source software (Sidequest, OBS, VLC, Subedit, Audacity)
• Ability in media conversion & compression, to use in conjunction with different playing devices (DaVinci Resolve, Adobe Premiere & FFmpeg)
• In case of XR Development and 3D software (Unity/Meta Developer Hub/Sidequest)

Understanding of web hosting, domain management, and website data entry (preferably knowledge with using WordPress).

Hardware troubleshooting in the case of video installations or projections (projectors, DVDs, media players, 360 equipment).

Basic understanding of networking and ability to connect multiple devices and/or sound systems in case of installations.

General knowledge of how sensors and microcontrollers operate and Arduino IDE in case of microelectronics.

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Key Responsibilities:

• Managing all technical setups and providing support to artists in case of handling data and its compatibility with Medrar’s inventory.
• Oversee equipment rentals for artists, institutions, and festivals.
• Maintenance and upkeep of all media lab equipment, inventory lists, and requirements.
• Update and support Medrar’s websites: The Cairo Video Festival website, Medrar, and Medrar TV.
• Facilitate data extraction from Cairo Video Festival archive in collaboration with the festival team and manage archiving software to maintain and update Medrar TV archive, supporting both Medrar’s screening public program and film distribution activities.
• Assist in planning and coordinating media-related workshops, projects, and public programs.

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Personal Attributes:

• Problem-solving mindset with the ability to independently troubleshoot technical, organizational, and workflow challenges.
• Strong communication skills and the ability to build professional relationships with artists, filmmakers, and external collaborators.
• Comfortable working both independently with minimal supervision and collaboratively within a small team setting.

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Additional Skills (Preferred but not required):

• Prior experience with festival archiving systems, film databases, or online submission platforms.
• Working knowledge of Linux-based systems and command-line operations.
• Familiarity with automation tools or scripts to streamline tasks.

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For 2025 three artis have explored the archives of the Mary Rose Trust – King Henry VIII’s flagship that sank in 1545 and was raised from the seabed in 1982.

The Mary Rose was King Henry VIII’s flagship and one of the most advanced warships of the 16th century. She sank suddenly during battle in 1545 and lay buried in the silt of the Solent for over 400 years before being raised in 1982. This oxygen-poor environment preserved the ship’s timbers and thousands of objects remarkably well, creating one of the most complete archaeological collections from the Tudor period. Over 19,000 artifacts were recovered, including weapons, tools, clothing, medical instruments, and personal belongings, offering an unusually detailed picture of life aboard a Tudor warship. The preservation of organic materials such as wood, leather, and textiles provides rare scientific insight into the technology, craftsmanship, and daily life of the 16th century. Together, the Mary Rose and her collection form a unique record of Tudor England and a landmark in maritime archaeology and conservation science.

woven into the Mary Rose collection. It asks whether interpretation itself can act as a form of preservation, by keeping collections open to reinterpretation and creative engagement, can we ensure they remain relevant, equitable, and alive beyond the confines of the archive?

Portsmouth, where the collection is housed, is a city shaped by its history. Its architecture and landscape form a living museum in which maritime heritage and naval life are embedded in the identity of its residents. This project seeks to reframe and expand that history, inviting new voices and perspectives to find meaning within it.

“In a city which holds its past as closely as Portsmouth does it’s vital we open space for artists to butt heads with what we think our past tells us about who we can be now.

By boldly exploring technologies which feel almost like science fiction we can open up a potential space for re-invention and reinvigoration, where the monoliths of identity that form our understanding of who we are in relation to the world can be made more gentle. Decentralising interpretations of our past means we gain a soft power, the power to form new and needed connections to heritage and position the sharp tool of technology as a way we can draw empathy making lines between one another in the silt.” – Thomas Buckley

Resonate

Developed to support local emerging artists in Portsmouth, UK, Resonate offers residency space at Play Office, paid time to dedicate toward the creation of new work, and access to a library of equipment and mentorship from technologists and creatives internationally.

Since 2023, the programme has enabled artists to experiment across disciplines, explore connections between technology, memory, and heritage, and contribute to a growing creative community grounded in collaboration and exchange.

Play Office

An artist studio and technology lab, Play Office is an incubation space for creatives to develop dynamic, future-focused, and responsive practices.

The studio hosts educational events and provides opportunities for artists to gain hands-on experience with both new and traditional technologies. Rooted in Portsmouth, Play Office explores local heritage as a source of inspiration for placemaking and artistic production, encouraging artists to think critically about how the past shapes the creative futures of the city.

Participating artists:

Hannah Mae Buckingham

Harry Payne

James Wylie

Join us on Monday, November 3, 2025, at 7 PM

MedRX Residency Program is a studio residency for artists initiated by Medrar and dedicated to Egyptian artists focusing on moving images, immersive and new media art, and technology. The residency is intended for the workflow and studio practice development of artists’ proposed and ongoing projects, through a fully equipped studio that provides access to facilities and devices for immersive technology practice. In addition, the program aims to offer cognitive and collaborative/interactive support by organizing meetings, discussions, and studio visits involving artists and specialists.

Each edition of the program consists of several cycles, each lasting one month, which can be extended, allowing the resident artist to fully utilize the facilities, programs, and services provided by Medrar.

Eligibility Criteria:

The program is designed for Egyptian artists with emerging and intermediate experience in digital practices and new technology. The program also encourages artists who show a keen interest in integrating immersive media into their practice to apply, regardless of their area of specialization.

The Studio

• MedRX Residency Program offers the following:
• An individual workspace (studio) measuring 3 x 4 meters, equipped with a table, chair, projector, screen, and computer.
• Access to additional devices, such as cameras and VR headsets.
• Partial technical assistance.
• Enrichment through talks, discussions, and studio visits with artists, curators, and mentors.
• The possibility of an open studio event at the program’s conclusion to present results and exchange ideas.

Program Guidelines

The following section outlines the terms, conditions, and policies established by Medrar:

•  The program is a grant provided by Medrar intended for Egyptian artists only.
• Artists who reside outside Cairo are encouraged to apply; however, Medrar does not offer accommodation.
• International artists are encouraged to apply and bear the expenses, which will be determined based on the duration of their stay.
• The studio is exclusively available for work purposes and does not provide accommodation.
• The residency spans one month and is extendable, following the official working hours of Medrar, excluding Fridays, Saturdays, and official holidays.
• The resident artist is required to consistently attend and commit to the entire residency duration.
• If the artist is unable to commit to the residency duration, they must notify Medrar at least one week before the program’s commencement to ensure the opportunity for the consideration of other applicants.
• Entry for guests is allowed under the condition of following the instructions and policies outlined by Medrar.
• The resident artist is free to use the kitchen and bring food and drinks.
• Smoking is strictly prohibited within Medrar’s space. Adherence to this policy is requested to maintain a healthy and safe environment.

Application Requirements

Applications are only valid by filling out the attached APPLICATION FROM HERE.

Deadline: Thursday, 22 August 2024

Accepted applicants will be contacted via email.

For questions and inquiries: info@medrar.org

Deadline for submission: 30 May 2024

Medrar for Contemporary Art launches its call for the 11th edition of Cairo Video Festival, which will be held in December 2024. The festival continues its focus on providing a platform for sharing and discussing newly produced video art and experimental film. Programs will be screened in conventional and non-conventional venues, in theater and exhibition spaces to promote, expand and harvest attention to the practice. 

For more information, guidelines, and application form click HERE.

MedRX Residency is an artist residency program initiated by Medrar and dedicated to Egyptian-based artists with a focus on immersive and new technology such as extended reality, artificial intelligence, and moving images.

The residency is intended for the workflow and development of artists’ proposed and ongoing projects through a fully equipped studio that gives them access to facilities and devices for immersive technology practice. In addition, the program aims to provide cognitive and collaborative/interactive support by organizing meetings, discussions, and workshops involving artists and specialists, with an emphasis on public engagement. 

The first edition of the program consists of several cycles, each lasting for one month, which can be extended, allowing the resident artist to fully utilize the facilities, programs, and services provided by Medrar. The deadline for submission of the first edition is Thursday, 29 February 2024.

Eligibility Criteria

The program is designed for artists with emerging and intermediate experience in digital and new technology. The program also encourages artists who show a keen interest in integrating immersive media into their practice, regardless of their area of specialization.

The Program 

MedRX Residency Program offers the following:

• An individual workspace (studio) measuring 3 x 4 meters equipped with a table, chair, projector, screen, and computer.
• The option to access additional devices, such as cameras and VR headsets.
• The potential for partial technical assistance.
• The program will be enriched by talks, discussions, and studio visits with artists, curators, and mentors.
• The program closes with an open studio event to present results and exchange ideas.

Program Guidelines

The following section outlines the terms, conditions, and policies established by Medrar.

• This program is intended for Egyptian artists only and is a grant provided by Medrar.
• Artists who reside outside Cairo are encouraged to apply; Medrar does not offer accommodation.
• International artists are encouraged to apply and bear the accommodation expenses, which will be determined based on the duration of their stay.
• The studio is exclusively available for work purposes and does not provide accommodation.
• The residency spans a duration of one month and is extendable, following the official working hours of Medrar, excluding Fridays, Saturdays, and official holidays.
• The resident artist is required to consistently attend and commit to the entire residency duration.
• If the artist is unable to commit to the residency duration, they are required to notify us at least one week before the program’s commencement to ensure the opportunity for the consideration of other applicants.
• Entry for guests is allowed, under the condition of following the instructions and policies outlined by Medrar.
• The resident artist is free to use the kitchen and bring food and drinks. 
• Smoking is strictly prohibited within Medrar’s space. We request that you adhere to this policy to maintain a healthy and safe environment.

Application Requirements

• CV (2 pages maximum).
• Artist portfolio or links to previous work.
• A detailed project proposal 

Applications are only valid by filling out the attached APPLICATION FROM HERE.

Deadline: Thursday, 29 February 2024

Accepted applicants will be contacted via email.

For questions and inquiries: info@medrar.org