AUC authors presentations at CSA Cultural Week in Maadi

AUC has just published Mia Gröndahl’s long-awaited and timely photographic documentation Revolution Graffiti: Street Art of the New Egypt (AUC Press, 2013). Through her collection of more than 400 color illustrations, the Swedish veteran photojournalist not only documents the wealth of graffiti emerging on the walls of Egypt over the past two years, but also deciphers their messages, and shares interviews with some of the country’s pioneering street artists.

On February 10, Mia Gröndahl will give a presentation about the book and sign copies as part of the Cultural Week at the Community Services Association in Maadi. Other prominent AUC Press authors such as Azza Fahmi, Ahmed Abdel-Gawad, Galal Amin, and Gamal al-Ghitani, will also be participating in this week-long event.

The Community Services Association Cultural Week will take place at the CSA premises, 4, Road 21, Maadi (click here for map) from Sunday February 10 to Sunday February 16, 2013.

The full program of AUC authors presentations is as follows:
Mia Gröndahl: Sunday 10 February 11:00 am - 1:00 pm
Azza Fahmy: Monday 11 February 11:00 am - 1:00 pm
Ahmed Abdel-Gawad: Wednesday 13 February 11:00 am - 1:00 pm
Galal Amin: Thursday 14 February 11:00 am - 1:00 pm
Gamal al-Ghitani: Saturday 16 February 11:00 am - 1:00 pm

Improv Theater and The Yeehaz at Bar D'O on Wed Feb. 27, 2013

AUC's Alumni Community Theater presents InterACT: evenings of improvisations, music, fun and drinks at Bar D'O, near President Hotel in Zamalek, on the following nights: Wednesday February 13, 2013 and Wednesday February 27, 2013 at 7:30 PM.

The show will be followed by the music of The Yeehaz.

Tickets are available through the ACT line: 010 0 828 6339

Lecture, performance & clips at Beirut in Cairo on Thursday Feb 7, 2013

Beirut begins its second season with an evening filled with a miscellaneous of presentations and (non-) visual notations on its roof, library, balcony and main space on Thursday February 7, 2013 at 7:00 PM.

Beirut, 11 Road 12 Mahmoud Sedky, Agouza, Cairo

Here the details:

A Collective Memory: Poetics, Politics & Love Letters
Azin Feizabadi | Lecture performance
(held in English)

In his presentation, Azin narratively links and thinks about what has taken place in Tunis 2011, Bucharest 1989, Quezon City 1986 or in Tehran 2009 – all as a result of “La Sortie de l'usine Lumière à Lyon” at Le Salon Indien du Grand Café in Paris 1895. The evening includes film screenings of “La Jetee” (FR, 1962, Chris Marker), “Iran – A Revolution Betrayed” (IR/GB, 1983, Ahsan Adib & Edward Mortimer) and “First Case, Second Case” (IR, 1979-1981, Abbas Kiarostami).

This lecture emerges from his ongoing research project “A Collective Memory”, launched by Azin Feizabadi in 2009 as a response towards the socio-political transformations in Iran and further of the Middle East. His approach is characterized by the use of a poetic grammar to combat the three-act-narrative structure of (his)story telling, capturing and collecting dreams, subjective histories and subconscious facts from the past, present and future historical events. Swaying between fiction and reality, aesthetics and politics, his films, installations or lecture-performances narratively connect between various transitional moments in recent history, spaces of political imagination and participation, to look for alternative ways of historiography that are based on notions of 'projection', 'specters' and 'time travel' rather than merely foreseeing the past.

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On view during 7 February - 25 February, 2013

“Physical Principles for the Choice of Red, Green & Blue" (2012) by Azin Feizabadi

Flags over Beirut, over Cairo. “Physical Principles for the Choice of Red, Green & Blue" by Azin Feizabadi refers to revolutionary moments in history, in Hungaria, Iran or Romania, when people eradicated certain symbols on national flags to symbolize the abandoning of a former (authoritarian) regime.

“(a(version)s)” (2012) by Joe Namy
Beirut's library will be temporarily occupied by “(a(version)s),” an assortment of samples, clips, pinches, and rips from 10 sound artists, realized by Joe Namy. In his words: "This collection of sounds started from a series of conversations with cross-generational contemporaries and mentors - specifically around the art of sampling and how each contributing artist uniquely approaches sampling in their practice. Artists were commissioned to make works that incorporate an existing recording that was meaningful to them in some way, in order to create a dialogue between their practices and around the very culture of sampling itself. The resulting compositions range from more intimate autobiographical references to over-arching archival systems exposing the politics of listening. Here, defamiliarized appropriations of past sound events become universal and future in their scope."

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Biographies

Azin Feizabadi is a Berlin based filmmaker and visual artist. In 2006 he co-founded (together with Kaya Behkalam) the art collective Reloading Images – a platform for artistic research, curatorial and publication projects in the Middle East and Europe. He was awarded the DAAD grant for New York in 2009/2010 & a fellowship at the Sommerakademie in Bern 2010. He has screened and exhibited works at the Berlinale - Forum Expanded, Sharjah Biennial, House of World Cultures Berlin, Queens Museum of Art, NGBK (Berlin), n.b.k. (Berlin), among other venues. www.azinfeizabadi.com

Joe Namy works with sampled sounds, documentary/music videos and photography, to investigate aspects of identity, memory, power and currents encoded in music. Namy participated in Ashkal Alwan's Home Workspace (2011-12), and has studied jazz, Arabic and heavy-metal drumming. His work has been exhibited at the Detroit Science Center; Queens Museum and Brooklyn Museum, New York; and Beirut Art Center, among other venues. www.olivetones.com/

Cinema at the Italian Cultural Institute

For their CineVideoClub - Cinema on Thursday-  programme, the Italian Cultural Institute in Zamalek presents: IL PRIMO UOMO, a film by Gianni Amelio with Jacques Gamblin, Catherine Sola, Maya Sansa, Denis Podalydès, Ulla Baugué. Drama, 98 min. - Italy, France, Algeria 2011. Italian with Italian subtitles.

Screen adaptation of Albert Camus' last novel, IL PRIMO UOMO traces back the events of an extraordinary character. The writer Jean Cormery goes back to his original homeland, Algeria, to plead for the idea of a country where Muslim and French can live along peacefully and in harmony. But in the 50s the Algerian issue is far from being resolved in a peaceful way. The man takes the chance to look for his mother and live again his youth in a difficult but sunny country.

Thursday February 7, 2013 at 7:00 PM in the Theatre of the Italian Cultural Institute

ANDREI GAVRILOV at the Manasterly Palace

Russian pianist, and winner of the first prize at the prestigious Tchaikovsky Competition, ANDREI GAVRILOV will be playing in Cairo at the Manasterly Palace on Sunday February 10, 2013 at 8:00 PM. On the programme a selection of Chopin's wonderful Nocturnes and a sonata from Prokofiev.
trust me, if you love music that's the place to be that evening!

For a detailed biography and complete programme of the evening click here.
To go to Gavrilov's homepage and access his extensive discography, click here.

 

BOOK-LAUNCHES & ARCHEOLOGICAL EXHIBITION at the ITALIAN CULTURAL INSTITUTE

The Week of the Italian Book in Egypt, organized on the occasion of the 44th Cairo International Book Fair, will end on Monday February 4, 2013 at 6.30 PM at the Italian Cultural Institute in Zamalek with the opening of the exhibition "The reliefs of Horemheb and Ptahemwia of the Civic Archeological Museum of Bologna".

The exhibition opening will be followed by the presentation of the Strega and Flaiano Prizes and the announcement of the two Reading Committees that will take part in the selection of Strega Prize 2013 and by the presentation of the Arabic translations of "Christ stopped in Eboli" by Carlo Levi – translated by Wafaa El Beaa and published by Dar El Kalama and "The Queen of the Desert Valley", comic novel by Mila Alvarez and Irene Morfini.
Presented will be also the Italian translation of "Piano Melody" by Abo Al Maaty Abo Shareb, translated by Hussein Mahmoud e Marianna Massa and Franco Cajani's "Towards the end of line n. two"- Hungarovox Publisher.

Guests: Abo Al Maaty Abo Shareb (author of "Piano Melody"); Mila Alvarez (Archeologist); Wafaa El Beaa (Helwan University); Hussein Mahmoud (MISR University); Irene Morfini (Archeologist) and Daniela Picchi (Museo Civico Archeologico di Bologna).

N.B. A copy of one of the translated book will be drawn to 50 participants at the event.

The "EGYPTIAN PROJECT" live in Cairo

The collaborative French/Egyptian music outfit ‘EGYPTIAN PROJECT’ will be on stage at the French Institute in Mounira on Wednesday February 6, 2013 at 7:30 PM and at the Cairo Jazz Club on Saturday February 9, 2013 at 9:00 PM. With varied aesthetics, this musical combination of two completely contrasting cultures produced a unique sound combining Egyptian folklore derived from the deepest roots of rural Egypt, with psychedelic trip hop beats by visionary electronic French maestro, Jérôme.

‘EGYPTIAN PROJECT’ are touring their latest album ‘Ya Amar’ around Egypt and theirs is an act not to miss.

In times of bleak oppression, finding profound art and expression presents a beacon of hope for a brighter future beaming with tolerance, mutual respect and appreciation of all cultures.

Egyptian Project Facebook page and youtube channel:
https://www.youtube.com/egyptianprojectvideo
http://www.facebook.com/jerome.egyptianproject