Pack of Cards
By Madame Sosostris
* I am sure that this is the event you have all been waiting for, if like me you are an admirer of the arts and handicrafts of the Community Centre of Akhmim and the Youth Centre of Hagaza. Organised by the Association of Upper Egypt for Education and Development under the auspices of Mrs Suzanne Mubarak, the exhibition of their works will be opened to the public today at 6.00pm at the Association's headquarters, 65 Al-Qubeissi Street in Daher, and will run for a whole week.
* In artist Gamal Kamel's famous portrait, dears, the Dark Nightingale emerges in all his delicate romanticism. The very symbol of mid-century Egyptian amorousness, Abdel-Halim Hafiz was more than a legendary singer and a passionately loved figure in Egyptian cultural life. He was very simply the stuff from which myths are made, effortlessly and phenomenally tickling the nation's most treasured ardent and patriotic sentiments, and feeding the emotional life of countless millions. Upon his death, exactly 23 years ago, a precious part of the nation's heart was irremediably broken. Today, dears, brings back nostalgic thoughts of love and melancholy, thoughts that already have me snuffling to myself as I pen these words, staining the page with longing.
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* Osama El-Baz, political adviser to the president, has long been a patron of the arts, notably inaugurating many exhibitions. His most recent was the opening of Farahat Zaki's show, A Flower on the Face of the South, at Grant Gallery on Gomhouria Street, in Abdin. The opening was attended by the gallery's owner, Fadia Grant, and our very own cultural editor Mursi Saad El-Din. The exhibition, running until 12 April, is a series of enchanting portraits of Nubian girls.
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* Last week, AUC's Final Student Art Exhibition of the National Universities Cultural Competition was inaugurated by the university president, John Gerhart, Vice-President Abdel-Khaleq Allam and Director of Students' Cultural Activities Aziza Khafaga. The exhibition, lasting until 15 April at the Ewart Gallery, comprises a stunning collection of artwork: paintings, drawings, sculptures, pottery and photography by, among others, the talented Magda El-Sehrawi, Reham Idris, Pamela Labib, Marwa Maziad, Sara El-Khodari and Ahmed Abdel-Aziz. It was followed by a lecture on the appreciation of arts by the Dean of the Faculty of Artistic Education Hamdi Abdallah. On 27 March, a committee of four judges from the Ministry of Youth appraised the budding artists' works and hailed the obvious maturity of their talent, promising to hold a special exhibition for the outstanding students in the ministry's new art gallery.
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* Yesterday, the Cairo office of the Japan Foundation and Ministry of Agriculture, in cooperation with the Federation of European Cartoonists Organisation (FECO) in Egypt and Japan, inaugurated an exhibition of cartoon works titled "The Middle East in the Eyes of Japan, Japan in the Eyes of the Middle East." The foundation invited two Japanese cartoonists, Norio Yamanoi, president of FECO in Japan, and Toshiko Nishida, a FECO member, to participate in the exhibition, which features works by artists Keiichi Makino, Yoshiaki Yokota, Hiroshi Kasamatsu and Seigo Sakai to name but a few. The exhibition lasts until 5 April at the Ministry of Agriculture's Egyptian International Centre, and is accompanied by a fascinating symposium on deepening cultural understanding via cartoon art.
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* One of the most popular events of this week is of course Nazli Madkour's exhibition at Safar Khan Gallery, which will fortunately be open until 22 April, giving you plenty of time to join the throngs of daily visitors. I was there a couple of days ago and could hardly get a glimpse of the paintings through the crowd. I did however manage to exchange a few words with the artist before she gave her full attention to beautiful actress Lubna Abdel-Aziz, her husband the renowned Dr Ismail Barrada and Lebanese Ambassador Hisham Damashkieh, who were discussing the incredible turnout -- as well as the beauty of the works on display, of course.
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* Karakib is an exhibition with a difference, showing water colours and still lifes by artist Abdel-Aziz El-Guindi. He has been inspired by odds and ends to which we usually pay little attention. Mohamed Hazem Fathallah, dean of the Faculty of Fine Arts, will open the exhibition at Qatr Al-Nada in Mohandessin on 2 April.
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* Who ever said that April is the cruelest month? For the first time in AUC history, a concert named Kulthoumiyat will be performed by the extremely gifted student Laila Tarek on 5 April at Oriental Hall. For a blissful hour, you can listen in rapture as Tarek sings selections from the oeuvre of our legendary singer Umm Kulthoum.
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* You will also get a chance to see some extremely interesting paintings and sculptures by Ammar and Abdel-Nasser Shiha, which will be showing starting 5 April at Extra Gallery in Zamalek.
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