Egypt International Art Fair Reborn as Art Cairo

Contemporary art lovers will notice three major changes to this year’s Egyptian International Art Fair in Cairo next month.

It is now called Art Cairo. Only galleries are featured, not independent artists. It will take place at the capital’s hottest new venue, the Grand Egyptian Museum.

“We are reaching a new maturity level,” said Mohammed Younis, who founded the fair in 2020. The National.

From February 11-14, Art Cairo brings together 30 galleries from across the Middle East to showcase works by more than 150 artists.

The exhibition was previously held at the Dusit Thani Lakeview Hotel in eastern Cairo. Held just days before the Covid-19 pandemic was declared, his March 2020 got off to a rocky start.

In 2021, Covid-19 health and safety measures remained a challenge in attracting large numbers of visitors.

Last year was the beginning of a real success, Eunice says, with 11,000 people visiting the fair over five days. This year, organizers expect 15,000 to 18,000 visitors.

Yunis said it changed its name to Art Cairo and restricted gallery participation to better align with international art fairs.

Choosing the Grand Egyptian Museum’s “grand venue”, which partially opened for the event in December, will also add to the show’s profile, he says.

Cairo has a vibrant arts scene, but few notable and consistent art fairs live up to its name on an international level. For example, his Biennale in Cairo in 2019 he resumed after a nine-year hiatus, but disappeared again from the calendar.

Art Cairo project manager Noor Alasker believes Egypt should host more art fairs than it does. “There are a lot of galleries, artists and collectors that are a major part of art fairs,” she says.

Younis, a marketing and management consultant who also co-founded Azad Art Gallery, saw an opportunity despite obstacles.

“The problem is that Egyptian artists are not well known internationally, and international artists are not well known within Egypt. We were a little closed to the world… So this opened us up to the world,” he says.

Art Cairo’s board of directors is made up of gallery owners and curators, including Art Talks founder Fatenn Mostafa-Kanafani and Lebanese art expert Saleh Barakat.

Which galleries are you participating in?

Galleries featured in this year’s show include 12 galleries from Egypt. Arcade, ArtTalks, Azad Art Gallery, Gallery Misr, Le Lab, Mashrabia Gallery of Contemporary Art, Medrar, Motion Art Gallery, Picasso East Art Gallery, Shelter Art Space, Tintera, Zamalek. art gallery.

Most of the regional galleries come from Lebanon, such as Art on 56th, Kaf Contemporary Art Gallery, Nadine Fayad Art Gallery, Saleh Barakat Gallery and Zaat.

Emirates is represented by Phan A Porter in Dubai and Qawra Art & Culture in Abu Dhabi by Sheikh Qawra bint Ahmed Khalifa Al Suwaidi, wife of National Security Adviser Sheikh Tahnnoun bin Zayed A center established by

Other participants include the Errm Art Gallery in Saudi Arabia, Fine Art by Fatina Al Said in Kuwait, George Kamel Gallery in Syria and Q0de Art Space in Jordan.

Who are the participating artists?

Art Cairo showcases both emerging and established artists when represented by galleries.

Established artists include Serwan Balan, the first Iraqi solo artist to represent Iraq at the 2019 Venice Biennale, and Palestinian painter Sulimane Mansour.

Syrian artists such as Ghassan Nana, Rima Salamon, Mohamad Khayata, Anas Albraehe and Souad Mardam Bey will be featured.

Khaldoun Hijazin, Executive Director of the Jordan National Gallery of Fine Arts, will participate through Wadi Finan Gallery in Amman.

Lebanese exhibitors include self-taught artist Georges Bashir and multidisciplinary creator Hiva Karache.

Among the works of Egyptians on display are works by renowned visual artist Mohamed Abra, abstract painter Nazri Madkour, figurative sculptor Ahmed Askarani and the late Egyptian artist Gamil Shafiq. there is.

How much does artwork cost?

Most of the artwork will be for sale, with the exception of some installation videos and projects, private collections and NFTs.

Prices for works between $500 and $100,000 are set in Egyptian pounds.

Art Cairo runs from 3pm to 10pm daily at the Grand Egyptian Museum from February 11th to 14th. A 1-day ticket costs 200 Egyptian pounds ($6.70) and a 4-day ticket costs 300 Egyptian pounds ($10). You can buy it online. collardtickets.com/event/art-cairo

Updated: Jan 24, 2023, 7:03 AM