“The City” – Open Studio by Mohamed Abo Gabal

Written by

We announce “The City” is an ongoing research project by Mohamed Abo Gabal, initiated in 2024, reflecting on how cities across the Middle East shift, expand, and contract under the pressure of political, economic, and institutional decisions. The work follows the city not as a fixed place, but as a space in flux, where transformation happens gradually or abruptly, deliberately or unintentionally. These shifts are often shaped by agendas that remain unclear or unacknowledged.

The project approaches urban space as a site where memory, power, and belonging are constantly negotiated. Who remains, what is removed, and how the past is referenced or erased are questions that run throughout the work. These decisions often bypass those most familiar with the space—residents, workers, and others whose presence rarely enters official narratives. It takes shape through research, movement, and close observation. It doesn’t aim to capture a singular image of urban life, but instead follows what is being rearranged, redefined, or slowly withdrawn. Small details such as altered building facades, renamed streets, or empty lots become entry points into broader conversations about space, displacement, and access.

Opening Sunday, 27th of April, at 6 PM, and runs until Tuesday, the 29th of April, from 4 to 9 PM 

In parallel of the open studio, “Grey Is The New Green” a discussion by Fares Zaitoon on Sunday, 27th of April, at 7 PM

and “Counter Narrative to the Urban Transformations of Cairo: a discussion by Ahmed Zaazaa on Monday, 28th of April, at 8 PM.

Address: Medrar, 10 Gamal Eldin Abo ElMahsen, 8th floor, Garden City, Cairo.

Walima: The Cosmology of Art and Food

Written by

We announce “Walima: The Cosmology of Art and Food”

“Walima” presents a series of events, discussions, performances, and workshops that explore the relationship between artistic practices and food, considering its cultural significance, social connections, and its role as a creative practice. Approaching Cooking as an art form, creating a space for experimentation where food and art function as cultural and social tools.

“To my father, my inspiration and the first one to introduce me to the magic of the kitchen. He is my first teacher in the culinary arts and the greatest person with whom I’ve shared moments of food, as we explored many restaurants together. A salute to my father, the unsung hero who has always been, and still is, the most interesting and inspiring man in my life” Mohamed Abo Gabal – Curator of Walima program

Haneen’s Kitchen – Hummus Workshop

The workshop traces the journey of hummus from its origins in Gaza to its presence in Palestinian cuisine today, shaped by historical transformations and trade routes such as the Via Maris. It considers cooking as a practice entangled with identity, where hummus remains an assertion of continuity amid displacement and oppression. Through a critical engagement with culinary traditions as both sites of continuity and rupture, the session reflects on the ways food holds histories of survival, adaptation, and resistance.

Workshop date: Saturday, 8th of March, 2025 – from 9:00 – 10:30 PM

Fee: 100 EGP

The Art & Engineering of Pasta, a talk by Monia Gobba

Join us for a visual and audio-driven exploration of Egypt’s pasta history. Through archival stories, factory floorplans, engineering drawings, and recorded voices, we’ll uncover the journey of Nani Pasta Factory, founded in 1953. Discover how local innovators reverse-engineered pasta machines to make mass production possible and see how packaging evolved to protect and showcase different pasta shapes. This is a look at the intersection of industry, design, and tradition—told through the machines, materials, and people who shaped it.

About Monia Gobba: A graphic designer and researcher that works with objects and documents of different disciplines and people and places to tell stories through publications, workshops and research initiatives.

Join us on Tuesday, 11th of March 2025, at 9 PM in Medrar.

Food & Resistance, a talk by Lujain Khairy

Join Lujain Khairy, a researcher in social studies and political anthropology, for a lecture on the intersection of food and resistance. The talk explores how daily cooking practices and food traditions contribute to public action and political movements. Through comparisons between Egyptian and Tunisian contexts, Lujain examines how food shapes political engagement and resistance, reflecting on its role in social and political change.

Join us on Saturday, 15th of March 2025, at 9 PM in Medrar.

Family Recipes: Cooking Memory and Writing Home in Flour and Grandmother’s Ink

Join us for an interactive talk where Farah Hallaba engages in conversation with Melanie Partamian about her family’s recipe books—their cultural backgrounds, entanglements, and the stories they carry.

An exploration of familial recipes through an anthropological lens, this discussion weaves between Melanie’s grandmothers’ ingredients and the social and political absences and presence(s) within these handwritten archives. And how notes on the margins, not related to food, reflect important aspects of the author’s life. Thinking of the cookbook as a suitcase, allows us to also engage with gender in migratory experience such as Melanie’s family’s.

Next Monday, 17th of March 2025, at 9 PM in Medrar.

Lentil Narrative: Tracing Food in Literature Talk by Afraa Ahmed & Aziz Morfeq

A talk by Afra Ahmed and Aziz Marfaq exploring traditional cuisines and dietary practices through literary and visual materials, focusing on Yemeni food with its authenticities and cultural influences. The discussion centers on the manuscript Sulafat Al-Adas, a nearly 300-year-old comedic, multi-styled poetic diwan. The verses in this manuscript contain references to everyday life, including dishes, food utensils, and ingredients, which the author employs as literary metaphors. Through examining these references as a case study, the talk explores how Yemeni eating habits and cultural practices are reflected and understood through literature.

Join us on Thursday, 27th of March 2025, at 9 PM in Medrar.

Dossier – meeting 3 with Ahmed El Shaer

Written by

«Through bridging physical and virtual reality, I create an alternative environment that offers new ways of understanding social and political narratives that intersect with or challenge official and traditional ones. New media art practices, particularly video games as an art form, provide a space for expression and critical inquiry into subjects ranging from pure aesthetics to contemporary geopolitics.»

As part of the Dossier program, Ahmed El Shaer presents a selection of his projects that explore video games as an artistic medium and extended reality. The talk opens a space for discussion on these practices, tracing their intersections with artistic, social, and political concerns, as well as questions of production and reception in different contexts.

Join us on Wednesday, 12th of March 2025, at 9 PM in Medrar.

Medrar, 10 Gamal Eldin Abo ElMahsen, 8th floor, Garden City, Cairo.

Dossier -meeting 2 with Marwa Benhalim

Written by

The second event of the “Dossier” presents an artist talk with Marwa Benhalim, offering a closer look into her artistic practice and the concepts that drive her work. The discussion focuses on the intersections of her roles as both an artist and curator, and how this duality is reflected in her projects and different collaborations.

Join us on Thursday 27th of February 2025 at 7 PM in Medrar.

— Dossier —

Written by

As part of Medrar’s program in its twentieth year, Dossier presents a series of events, discussions, and talks addressing topics related to the local art scene, contemporary art in Egypt, independent institutions, and alternative practices.

The first event of “Dossier” is a discussion with Ismail Fayed as part of his research project on the history of contemporary art in Egypt from 2000 to 2022. The discussion will explore documentation and writing on contemporary Egyptian art, Medrar’s ongoing programs related to archiving, and the challenges surrounding critical discourse and accessibility.

Join us on Wednesday, 19th of February 2025, 7 PM at Medrar.

Medrar, 10 Gamal Eldin Abo ElMahsen, 8th floor, Garden City, Cairo.

Vanishing Traces: Reflections on the Digital Archive and the History of Contemporary Art – A discussion panel by the writer Ismail Fayed

Written by

Vanishing Traces: Reflections on the Digital Archive and the History of Contemporary Art. A discussion panel by the writer Ismail Fayed. 

As part of the public discussion program of the research project “Against All Odds: Towards a History of Contemporary Art in Egypt (2000-2022)”, the second event of the program comes in collaboration with Medrar for Contemporary Art to invite those interested and concerned with the history of contemporary visual art to discuss the role and meaning of the digital archive as a space for memory but also forgetting. The contemporary art scene emerged at the beginning of the millennium and was formed and engaged with a digital infrastructure of image and text that played a fundamental role in developing this scene and its practices, and this was also reflected in the ways in which these practices were received and disseminated, as well as remembered. It can be said that many of those involved in contemporary practices used digital means and tools in various ways, even if their practices were not concerned with specific digital mediums or with direct questions about digital media. Reliance on these digital mediums or structures has become self-evident and largely unquestioned. This was reflected in the methods of communication (starting with email and going on to social media) as well as the spaces for publishing and expression (electronic journalism, blogs, social media platforms, etc.) and this digital structure became an integral part of the presence of that scene and the ways of dealing with it despite the fragility of the digital medium and its seemingly inevitable disappearance. After more than twenty years of many institutions and spaces working in this scene and the “fading” and disappearance of many of those digital traces and their content, the question becomes what kind of archive can be imagined with that vanishing? What is the collective memory that can be saved or formed with this absence? And in the event that it is impossible to save that presence or this content, what kind of dialogue can we talk about as witnesses and agents? The discussion panel invites all those interested in the history of contemporary visual art to share their concerns, hopes, and aspirations and to think about an alternative archive or memory that goes beyond vanishing traces.

Join us on Thursday, November 21 1st, 2024, at 7 PM at Medrar

Address: Medrar, 10 Gamal Eldin Abo ElMahasen, Garden City, Cairo.

“Back to the Roots” Art Talk by artist Aïda Schweitzer

Written by

Join us on Sunday, November 17th, at 7 p.m. for an engaging art talk with artist Aïda Schweitzer at Medrar for Contemporary Art!

As the artist-in-residence at Out Of The Circle, Aïda Schweitzer will share her journey with textiles and her art research in Egypt. She delves into the rich heritage of Egyptian textile patterns and techniques, blending tradition with technology. Her project experiments with ancestral embroidery, integrating AI-generated visuals to create a new artistic language. This research opens a unique dialogue: will AI become a tool, a hybrid creative partner, or an independent entity in her process?

Since 2009, Aïda has exhibited widely across Europe, including at Nosbaum Reding Project Gallery and the Venice Biennale. Now, she brings her skills into an experimental laboratory, redefining textile art for contemporary audiences.

AIR supported by Kulturlx Arts Council Luxembourg

Address: Medrar, 10 Gamal Eldin Abo ElMahsen, Garden City, Cairo.
Note: The art talk will be held in English.

Photo: I am back on my land by Aïda Schweitzer (Deconstructed lines, an image of traditional Egyptian motifs reinterpreted by AI and the artist — 80×80 Embroideries on linen, 2024).

Artist talk with Photini Papahatzi

Written by

No photo description available.

Join us tomorrow for an artist talk with Photini Papahatzi at 7:00 PM, where she will share her experiences during her residency in Cairo. Photini explores her family’s roots in Egypt by mapping the traces they left during the 20th century. Her artistic practice incorporates photography, documentation, and narrative storytelling, addressing themes of migration, memory, identity, and the body.

The discussion will be conducted in English as part of the Anna Lindh Foundation’s ALFinMOTION Mobility program, supported by the European Union, in collaboration with the Sekoun Residency Program.

‏Address: Medrar, 10 Gamal Eldin Abo ElMahsen, Garden City, Cairo.

Photo courtesy of Photini Papahatzi’s personal archive.

“Where the banyan tree meets the nile,” a multimedia installation and artist talk by Roshan Ganu

Written by

We invite you to attend “Where The Banyan Tree Meets The Nile,” a Multimedia Installation and Artist Talk by our artist-in-residence, Roshan Ganu, on Thursday, 21st of December at 7 pm at Medrar for Contemporary Art.

Native to the Indian subcontinent, a Banyan Tree grows in the heart of Zamalek in Cairo. Its roots were carried to Egypt from India by Khedive Ismail in 1868. Originally from Goa, India, currently living in the United States, and now traveling in Egypt, the Banyan Tree forms a metaphor for immigrant people such as the artist, Roshan Ganu. She says, “When we carry our roots with us, how do we instill a sense of belonging in a new land? What happens when the Banyan Tree meets the River Nile?” Through immersive projection, sound, and darkness, Ganu welcomes the viewer into a place of narrative reflection and the feeling of being itinerant.

At the Artist Talk, Ganu will share her experiences being an immigrant person, addressing the circumstances of aloneness and longing this identity brings. Through her work she proposes a perspective, “Can narrative mythology and storytelling become an alternative way of building a sense of place and home around us when we are confronted by a new land?’

Roznama 9

Written by

Roznama is an annual competition and exhibition for contemporary visual art for Egyptian artists, its ninth edition is organised by Medrar for Contemporary Art and ARD Art Institution.

The competition aims to encourage creative contemporary practices of young artists below the age of 35 by highlighting and awarding the outstanding genuine works, beyond their discipline or medium.

This edition includes 33 Artists, and the exhibited artworks will be displayed at 5 venues between Cairo and Alexandria.

Exhibition Timing

  • from 1:00 – 9:00 PM at Medrar for Contemporary Art, ARD Art Institution, and Tahrir Cultural Centre TCC (Falaki Gallery), every day except Fridays.
  • from 3:00 – 9 :00 PM at B’sarya for Arts, except Saturdays and Fridays
  • from 11:00 – 7:00 PM at Wekalet Behna, except Saturdays and Fridays

Prizes

  • Artist in Residency for 1 months in Steigenberger Resort in Hurghada provided by ADD Art for artist Mona Essam Eldin
  • Artist in Residency for 3 months at Tahrir Culture Centre provided by Tahrir Culture Centre for artist Mohey Eldin Yahia
  • Art Residency in Germany awarded by Goethe Institut – Cairo for artist Mohamoud Talaat
  • Artist in Residency for 1 month in Switzerland provided by Pro Helvetia Cairo – Swiss Arts Council for artist Amir Abd Elghani
  • Language scholarship in an acknowledged institution in Egypt for the equivalent of up to 30,000 EGP provided by Ubuntu Art Gallery for artist Hana Osama
  • 10,000 EGP cash prize provided by Gypsum Gallery for artist Sara Younis
  • 10,000 EGP in purchase prize provided by Alwan Bookstore for artists: Shaza Mostafa and Ahmed Yasser
  • Prize provided by Contemporary Image Collective (CIC) for artist Hana Osama

Roznama 9 Parallel Program

This year’s edition of Roznama will hold a parallel program alongside the main competition and exhibition.

The accompanying program will include a series of talks, panels, and round tables, opening a channel between established, upcoming, and exhibiting artists and art practitioners to freely voice and share their standpoint and practice.

This format offers exposure and insight into the participants’ productions, with room for individuals and groups in the field to collectively discuss and share their take on their relation with their art, society, and art institutions in the current day, upholding the practice of past editions of accepting both conventional and experimental art forms and narratives.

Accommodating inquiry through the setting of talks, whether among the participating artists themselves, with specific artists and projects related to the exhibited artworks, or expanding on the contemplative process of the jury members selecting bodies of work for Roznama 9, as well as panels supplying the discernment and observations of professionals, academics, curators, and cultural workers from various backgrounds regarding the selected projects.

The program seeks to pay attention to the audience as well, understanding the value of the crowd/public input and their link to the visual contemporary works as they all together, the artists, art works, and audience, morph and interact with the surrounding environment, which is the drive behind including round tables within the program, supplying a level plane for discussions.

The program aims at presenting a beneficial and supportive series of events complementing the central exhibition and competition

A TALK WITH MEENA IBRAHIM

Written by

Meena Ibrahim, the award-winning animator, shares his personal experience as the animation supervisor in some of the highest-grossing blockbusters of the 21sth century. The talk is followed by a Q&A session.

DIGITALLY DIVIDED: ON DATA AND DIVISIVENESS – ARTIST LECTURE BY KATHERINE BEHAR

Written by

Know the artist!
Katherine Behar is an interdisciplinary artist and critical theorist of new media whose works exploring gender, race, class, and labor in contemporary digital culture her work appeared throughout North America and Europe.

She is known for projects that mix low and high technologies to create hybrid forms that are by turns humorous and sensuous.

Pera Museum in Istanbul presented Katherine Behar: Data’s Entry | Veri Girişi, a comprehensive survey exhibition and catalog, in 2016.
Additional solo exhibitions include Backups (2019), E-Waste (2014, catalog/traveling), and numerous others collaborating as “Disorientalism.”

Currently, Behar is developing an ambitious interactive robotic installation, Anonymous Autonomous, which received work-in-progress solo exhibitions at Robert Morris University and University of Michigan and will premiere in an upcoming solo exhibition at the Beall Center for Art and Technology in 2024.

Behar is the editor of Object-Oriented Feminism, the coeditor of And Another Thing: Nonanthropocentrism and Art (with Emmy Mikelson), and the author of Bigger than You: Big Data and Obesity.

Fellowships and residencies include MacDowell, Santa Fe Art Institute, Nida Art Colony, Pioneer Works, Art Journal, Wassaic Project, Franklin Furnace, and others. Behar is based in Brooklyn and is Associate Professor of New Media Arts at Baruch College, CUNY.

Entry is free. First-come, first-served basis is applied due to the space limited capacity